17 December, ISKANDAR MALAYSIA – Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) has recently firmed up its partnership with the British High Commission to strengthen urban and transportation planning in Iskandar Malaysia at the third validation workshop on Global Future Cities Programme at IRDA’s headquarters in Danga Bay, Johor Bahru.
The letter of intent for this strategic partnership was signed between IRDA, represented by Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive, and the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur, represented by Mr Kabul Azbaha, Counsellor, Head of Prosperity Team (Economic Development). At hand to witness this was Yang Berhormat Tan Hong Ping, Chairman of Local Government, Science and Technology Committee for Johor.
“Twelve (12) years down the road, Iskandar Malaysia has achieved many successes in the three (3) realms of economics, social and environment and we would want to continue these successes so that they will spill over to benefit the stakeholders, especially the Rakyat.”
“When we talk and discuss about transportation, we will take into account the importance and impact of this agenda on a wider scale in terms of connectivity. I hope that this partnership will help to realize everyone aspirations for Iskandar Malaysia to become an international metropolis.” said Datuk Ismail.
The Global Future Cities Programme builds upon three integrated pillars that will address key barriers to prosperity namely Urban Planning, Transportation, and Resilience. From these integrated pillars, two main interventions for Iskandar.
Malaysia have been identified. There are two interventions which are (1) the implementation strategy for Iskandar Malaysia’s smart integrated mobility management system (SIMMS), and (2) creating enabling conditions for data utilisation and data management for evidence-based urban and transport planning.
In general, the proposed interventions aim to curb urban sprawl and slum developments, thereby promoting more dense, connected and inclusive cities that in combination contribute to prosperity, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementing the New Urban Agenda (NUA).
The validation workshop was organized to gauge feedback on the identified interventions to support the sustainable transportation vision of Iskandar Malaysia. This session also contributes to better understanding and hence building ownership for both process and the interventions.
The workshop was also a follow through from the 1st and 2nd workshops which ware held on 30 July 2018 and 28 August 2018, respectively.
Parties involved in the Iskandar Malaysia-level programme include: – Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK FCO) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat).
“The Global Future Cities Programme, which is part of a wider portfolio called the Prosperity Fund, aims to support a range of strategic interventions in 19 cities across 10 countries, and we are proud that Iskandar Malaysia has been selected to be included in the programme,” added Datuk Ismail.