Zuraida Praises Gamuda Land For Their Efforts In Sustainable Development
She recently paid a visit to Gamuda Cove and Paya Indah Discovery Wetlands, in conjunction with Earth Day 2021.
By Gowri Chitra — 23 Apr 2021, 03:30 PM
Yesterday, 22 April, Housing and Local Government Minister (KPKT) Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin visited Gamuda Cove and Paya Indah Discovery Wetlands, in conjunction with Earth Day 2021
The visit was part of KPKT’s drive towards improving the standard of sustainable land use and optimisation in the country. Zuraida was hosted by Gamuda Land Chief Executive Officer Ngan Chee Meng and Chief Operating Officer Aw Sei Cheh.
During the visit, she enjoyed a firsthand tour of Gamuda Cove, a 1,530-acre site located in Southern Klang Valley. The visit showcased Gamuda Land's mindful master planning, as evidenced by the development of Gamuda Cove into a vibrant, smart, and sustainable township, along with its stewardship of the surrounding ecosystem.
From left to right: Dr Shamsaini Shamsuddin, Director-General, PlanMalaysia; Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister, Housing and Local Government; Pn Hajah Rotina Binti Mohd Daik, Director-General, National Landscape Department; and Khariza Abd Khalid, Chief Operating Officer, Gamuda Parks.
Image via Gamuda LandSpeaking at the Gamuda Cove Experience Gallery, Zuraida said, "As we celebrate Earth Day, we must keep in mind that residential housing and development must take into consideration not just the needs of Malaysians today, but those of generations of home seekers to come.
"With KPKT’s mandate to further the national housing agenda and improve the lives of the rakyat, we applaud developers like Gamuda Land who establish and uphold responsible, holistic, and sustainable development practices."
Gamuda Cove is a nature sanctuary and smart city with planned 5G infrastructure
Getting around the township is a breeze, as it is designed to provide intercity and intracity connectivity with integrated pedestrian walkways, a tramway network, and shuttle bus and environmentally-friendly Electric Transit Vehicle infrastructure.
It also incorporates numerous placemaking initiatives and features many leisure and entertainment components, including the Discovery Park, Splashmania water theme park, and Townsquare retail zone in its Heart of Cove commercial hub.
With all this and more, Gamuda Cove is the embodiment of Gamuda Land’s mindful approach to township planning, with sustainable land use and optimisation ensuring the sustainability of the development for years to come.
Gamuda Land's efforts to sustainably develop Gamuda Cove is important, because the area surrounding the township is rich in wetlands that play an integral role in Malaysia's ecology
By making sure to conserve these neighbouring wetlands, Gamuda Land ensures that they will be able to continue performing vital ecological roles such as sequestering carbon, mitigating floodwater, and serving as wildlife habitats.
"One of our key development principles is ‘Listening to what the land has to tell us’. At Gamuda Cove, we worked with nature by separating the water that runs off the land to preserve and protect the wetlands next to us. We then crafted the waterways to flow through the town and its landscapes," said Gamuda Land Chief Executive Officer Ngan Chee Meng.
He added, "To us, sustainability is about looking into the niche details of town-making today to ensure people can enjoy enhanced quality of life for the longer future. This is how we build townships where people can grow up and grow old in for generations to come, while remaining mindful of the natural ecosystems surrounding our developments."
Gamuda Land's efforts to sustainably develop Gamuda Cove include the following:
1. Minimised impacts to the hydrology of the Gamuda Cove site through mindful water table management
This includes the establishment of three water retention ponds in the township, as well as two more in the nearby Forest Park to address soil compaction and subsidence issues.
These initiatives also serve to mitigate stormwater runoff to nearby rivers, while simultaneously enhancing biodiversity in terms of flora and associated avian species.
2. Audited six of its townships to date, including Gamuda Cove, as part of its biodiversity rehabilitation efforts
The audit served to establish a baseline for biodiversity and benchmark subsequent growth. Insights from these studies were used to foster vibrant ecosystems within Gamuda Land developments.
3. Earmarking 90 acres of land in Gamuda Cove for the development of the Forest Park and a Wetlands Arboretum
At these places, the community living within the township can enjoy outdoor activities amidst nature. This is in addition to the 60-acre pet-friendly Central Park in the heart of the township.
Such efforts are a testament to the Gamuda Group’s approach to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
These include ongoing efforts for the planting of #OneMillionTrees across Gamuda Land townships by 2023, as a step towards combating climate change and associated heat island effects.
