UNESCO World Heritage Site Archives

The Weld Heritage Square is available for arts and culture lovers in Malaysia

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World

Zizi Holdings SdnBhd’s Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Danial Zulkifli

PENANG, MALAYSIA: (Press Release) A new commercial project located in the buffer zone of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pengkalan Weld is set to become a bustling arts and culture hub for the inner city.

The Weld Heritage Square, located adjacent to the heritage clan jetties, is spread out over 2.1 acres of land along Lebuhraya Merdeka off Pengkalan Weld.

The project, which is expected to complete by the end of 2021, is jointly developed by Adat Makmur SdnBhd and KoperasiGabungan Negeri Pulau Pinang.

Adat Makmur is a residential and commercial property developer and a subsidiary of Zizi Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Zizi Holdings’ Chief Marketing Officer Ms Zahidah Zeid

This strata-titled project has a Gross Development Value (GDV) of RM160 million and it consists of three and four storeys shop units.

Boasting a design that enhances its rich cultural heritage surroundings, The Weld Heritage Square is set to be a choice location for art galleries, restaurants, boutique hotels, offices and small businesses.

Zizi Holdings SdnBhd’s Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Danial Zulkifli said the commercial centre was designed specifically to meet strict UNESCO World Heritage Site guidelines.

“It is located in the heritage buffer zone so we face the challenge of building a commercial centre that has to adhere to the strict building height limit of below four- storeys,”

“We are committed to complete this project and deliver a Penang experience in a commercial centre,”

“The project was delayed due to various reasons including court cases as there were settlers on this land and also due to my late father Datuk Dr Haji Zulkifli Ismail’s poor health. He was managing the project at that time but unfortunately passed away last year,” he said.

The development company, now under Danial’s leadership, resumed the project recently and the project is now nearing completion.

The Weld Heritage Square is designed with generous parking space and large driveways. In between two rows of the shop units, an open space is set aside specifically to host cultural activities and street bazaars. The spacious open space is decorated with colourful murals depicting the lifestyle of the clan jetties and its surrounding areas.

The Weld Heritage Square

“We want this space to become an arts and cultural hub and the open space is perfect for art events and festivals,” Danial said.

He said the proposed Penang Art District development is located nearby so The Weld Heritage Square will be able to complement and cultivate a new art scene in the area.

Zizi Holdings’ Chief Marketing Officer Ms Zahidah Zeid said the commercial centre will add colour and more activities to the busy area.

“We want this area to become an arts and cultural commercial area and we hope to attract other local businesses as well,” she said.

“We look forward to filling this place with activities and to attract businesses from all sectors to be based here to serve the local residents and at the same time, serve as a landmark for tourists who are visiting the heritage clan jetties,” she added.

Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners SdnBhd Senior Partner Sr. Michael Geh said the team behind the project is very committed in completing the project.

“I believe this place, which is near the clan jetties and the Hean Boo Thean Guan Yin Temple, is a unique development and it can become a tourism hub and stimulate economic activities,” he said.

He noted that the area recorded high foot traffic as visitors and tourists would walk along the road to head towards the clan jetties and the Hean Boo Thean Guan Yin Temple, a temple jutting out in the sea.

He said the project will do well as a location for existing businesses in the area looking for new shop units.

Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners SdnBhd is the …marketing agent for the project.

The soft launch of The Weld Heritage Square today (March 27) was graced by Pengkalan Kota State Assemblyman YB Daniel Gooi.

In his speech, YB Daniel said the development project will contribute greatly towards the local economy, as well as to support the state of Penang in its journey towards the recovery process post-pandemic.

“Situated at a strategic location, The Weld Heritage Square will serve as an important landmark linking the UNESCO World Heritage site, especially with its close vicinity to the world famous Clan Jetties area and the greater George Town area,” he said.

“With the upcoming infrastructure and transportation development planning, including the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) as well as the Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) that will be linking KOMTAR all the way towards the Penang South Island, I am convinced that all these will contribute significantly towards the overall rejuvenation of George Town as the state capital, as well as enhanced value to the city that we love,” he added.

The Weld Heritage Square is now at its final stages of completion and is expected to obtain its Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) in the first half of 2022.

How waste management is helping Vietnamese women earn a living

by admin | May 25, 2021 | World

By Vishal Gulati,

Hoi An (Vietnam) : With over 20 million tourists visiting per year, this port city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — produces approximately 27,000 tonnes of urban waste per year.

Most of the solid waste here, the country’s first “eco-city” — known for its pagodas, temples, ancient wells and tombs — was once finding its way into the ocean, streams and landfills, threatening the environment and the health of communities.

Now, household and tourism industry waste is sorted into three categories — recyclable, biodegradable and persistent — and disposed of under a pilot evolved by UN agencies with the involvement of locals, mainly women.

Result: Scientific waste disposal is not only enhancing community income and employment, but is also addressing local environmental and climate challenges while at the same time taking into account business interests.

Home to a harmonious blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese influences, Hoi An is located about 30 km south of the coastal city of Da Nang in Quang Nam province.

The credit of setting up the long-term waste management system that fosters sustainable development goes to a Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, which came into existence in Hoi An in 2010. It basically aims at innovation and advocacy.

With the support of GEF, a financial mechanism for several environmental conventions, a women’s union piloted the project named “Socialisation of solid waste management in Hoi An”.

The project not only aimed to collect, segregate and dispose of the waste but also gave ample opportunity to poor local women to earn from it, a GEF spokesperson told IANS.

Biodegradable waste is composted at the household level and then used by local farmers for sustainable agriculture. Plastic, metal, and other recyclable waste is collected and sold to recycling facilities, while persistent waste is disposed of by the local government.

A revolving credit scheme gave loans to members of the groups and allowed the waste management programme to become viable.

Minh Hang, an octogenarian woman living in Hoi An, whose population density is six times higher than the national average, says the waste management programme helps her family get jobs.

She told IANS through an interpreter: “My entire family depends solely on waste collection and its disposal… it helps us earn a livelihood and also saves the environment.”

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Hoi An eco-town development, which is funded under the UN’s One Plan Fund, envisions active participation by people’s committees to implement green industry practices in small and medium enterprises, particularly those in the tourism, crafts and related sectors.

The local civic authorities were advised to arrange solid waste collection plans and promote gardening in the city by involving business houses.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) President Achim Steiner, who is the Vice-Chair of United Nations Sustainable Development Group, told IANS: “I think it takes the (local) leadership first. The private sector needs to be prepared to lead in this (in finding solutions to climate change) field also.”

“It (private sector) can’t be a passive player and they can’t wait for the government to solve the problem. So the first thing we in the UN family, not only in the UNDP, is to look for the leaders in the private sector because they are part of the change that we are calling for.”

Steiner, who was in Da Nang last week to meet with senior government leaders of Vietnam and attend the sixth GEF Assembly, was informally interacting with reporters there.

A passionate advocate of the Sustainable Development Goals, Steiner was categorical in saying that together with the private sector “we develop platforms on the issues of climate change”.

“The private sector is a key factor in allowing the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to succeed,” he said, adding, “So, engaging the financial sector is going to be a key priority.”

“Environment change is still pacing our capacity to respond by far. Emissions are not coming down enough. So is the global footprint of our consumption. We have produced more plastic in the last 13 years than in the entire human history. And you see the exponential impacts on the planet.”

“We are still confronting this. There is enormous need for transformational change. And this in the backdrop in which national and international cooperation of multilateralism acting together and acting in solidarity to one another (is required),” he said.

Since 1998, GEF’s Small Grants Programme has supported more than 150 projects in Vietnam. The programme supports communities to demonstrate, deploy and transfer innovative tools and approaches for managing harmful chemicals and waste.

(Vishal Gulati was in Da Nang for the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network Biodiversity Fellowship Programme at the Sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly. He can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)

—IANS