Certified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Malacca is rich in heritage due to myriad of influences from the East and West. It developed cultures and traditions that are unique only to this state. Inspired by its past, the project consist of 12 precincts including residential, commercial, cultural, entertainment and lifestyle elements. The 12 precincts are Gateway Entertainment Precinct, Malacca Marina & Cruise Centre, Malacca Historical Walk, Gateway Maritime Arena & Beacon, Branded Fashion District, International Theme Park, Malacca Cultural Walk, Waterfront Marina Villas & Resorts, Gateway Wellness & Lifestyle Precinct, Malacca Skyline Apartments, Lohas Park & Residences and Eco Isle Resorts. The 609-acre project will see the first phase attracting some 900,000 visitors during the first year of operations, including international cruise passengers. The first phase, which will be built on Malacca Island, will include Malaysia Eye, two hotels, several resorts, a heritage walk, a fashion district and a marina terminal. The marina terminal alone will cost some RM600 million and able to handle three cruise ships at the same time. United Nations Millennium Development Goals environmental sustainability guidelines are used as based for the project. This project is projected to create 15,000 jobs.
The developer obtained the concession for the project in September 2010 and received all approvals for the project in September 2013. The developer later secured five foreign investors namely TRE Development Pte Ltd from Singapore, Skyye Group Pte Ltd from Italy, Rinani International Aero Marine which is a Korean-Malaysian joint venture, Kasen International from China and Royal Caribbean Cruise from the US. Kasen International is the project's first international investor and will be developing hotels and condominiums with a projected gross development value of RM1.9 billion while TRE Development has acquired six acres of land for RM88 million. Meanwhile, Skyye Group will bring in 200 branded goods and Royal Caribbean Cruise will jointly develop the cruise jetty with KAJD.About 40% will be foreign investors while 26% to 30% will be done by KAJD and the balance through JVs.
Melaka Gateway's cruise terminal
The RM40 billion Melaka Gateway project developed by KAJ Development will have the construction of its cruise terminal to commence in Q3 2016. This Melaka International Cruise Terminal developed under the largest man-made island project in South-East Asia is slated for completion by 2017 and will be able to accommodate four large cruise ships at the same time. The Melaka Gateway project comes with marina for yachts, luxury condominiums, bungalows with private marina, tourist eco-parks, theme parks and terminal for cruise ships. For the development of the terminal, KAJ Development is collaborating with Royal Caribbean International, a firm which constructed similar projects in the Miami and New York previously.
Three Chinese companies joined hands on 19 October 2016 to help a Malaysian company build a new deep sea port in the Strait of Malacca. The deep sea port, part of a grander 30 billion-ringgit Melaka Gateway Project, is estimated to cost around eight billion ringgit and will be built with the help of PowerChina International, Shenzhen Yantian Port Group and Rizhao Port Group. It is expected to be completed by 2019.
Reactions
, Dato Wira Ir. Idris Haron said he was serious in developing Melaka into a nautical gem of this region and could no longer tolerate any hiatus in proposed development projects laid by interested developers. He also said that this project will have many green buildings as well as it will help to improve the tourism sector. The Kristang community at Portuguese Settlement of Melaka however said that their community is being sidelined by this project.
