Tag: construction site

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Travel to Melaka

MELAKA INTERNATIONAL CRUISE TERMINAL READY BY 2017

MALACCA: The construction of the Malacca International Cruise Terminal, part of the Melaka Gateway project, will kick off in three months and is expected for completion in 2017.

Malacca Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade committee chairman, Datuk Lim Ban Hong, said the terminal would be able to accommodate four large cruise ships simultaneously.

“We are targeting 250 cruise ships to dock at the terminal per year by 2020 and bring in a strong economic impact to the state,” he told reporters in Malacca on Thursday.

He said this after a visit to the terminal construction site with KAJ Development Sdn Bhd chief executive officer, Datuk Michelle Ong and Luis Ajamil from project consultant, The Royal Carribean.

The RM40bil Melaka Gateway, near Pulau Melaka, is developed by KAJ Development and is the largest man-made island project in South-East Asia.

Among the planned facilities are a marina for yachts, luxury condominiums, bungalows with private marina, tourist eco-parks, theme parks and ports for cruise ships.

“Most tourists travel by land, but with the Melaka Gateway, we will be able to attract more tourists via the sea. This is part of the state’s Transport Development Master Plan,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, Ajamil said Melaka Gateway was the third entity that the Royal Caribbean had collaborated with for jetty construction and development project after Miami and New York in the United States.

“Normally, research on waves, ocean depth, soil conditions and waves flows takes four years but Malacca Gateway only took about two years from 2014,” he said. – Bernama

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Cuisine in Melaka

MALAYSIA FIRST CHINESE PAGODA MOSQUE

New Straits Times
Monday, May 27, 2013
MALACCA – Malaysia’s first Chinese pagoda-inspired mosque will be completed in April next year.

State Chinese Muslim Association (Pertim) chairman Mohd Mansor Yap Abdullah said the mosque, estimated to cost about RM7.5 million (S$3.13 million), would be located at Krubong, near here, and would not only cater to Chinese Muslims in the state, but all Muslims.

He said the mosque, which was being built on a 2.4ha site, would be a combination of the architectural designs of several mosques in Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.

“This mosque will be the first in the country which will incorporate the pagoda in its design.

“Hopefully, it will become a tourist attraction. I also hope that the mosque will open doors for the Chinese community to have closer ties with the Muslim community, fostering better understanding between both communities.”

Mansor added that the mosque would implement a natural ventilation concept.

“The main prayer space will be able to cater up to 2,000 Muslims at one time, while the outer prayer space will have room for up to 3,000 ummah,” he said after visiting the mosque’s construction site here yesterday.

Construction of the mosque’s main building began earlier this year through an allocation of RM5.9 million from the Federal Government, which was approved by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in October 2011.

An additional RM1.6 million was later contributed towards the project from donations, as well as a state government fund set up by former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Mansor said once the mosque was completed, Pertim’s office would be moved there to facilitate the association’s activities and programmes for the community.

“The mosque will also offer facilities, such as a funeral rites room, meeting rooms and a library.

“The Chinese Muslim community here is excited about the mosque, as their dream of having a Chinese pagoda-inspired mosque will soon be realised.”

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Tourism Malaysia

Tour London’s Olympic Park

THE public were allowed into Britain’s Olympic Park in April for the first time since the 2012 Games, with a behind-the-scenes tour of its transformation into a new neighbourhood of London.

More than 23,000 tickets have already been sold for the hour-long accompanied tours, organisers said, which offer a sneak preview before the Stratford site begins to open in July.

Visitors don hard hats and high-visibility jackets to tour what is still a construction site, where sporting venues are being transformed into a new district of homes, schools and businesses.

The “Park in Progress� bus trips, offered on weekends and school holidays until June 23, will also include a visit up the red ArcelorMittal Orbit tower designed by Anish Kapoor.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “We promised to give people opportunities to get back onto the park as soon as possible, and it is no surprise that there is a huge appetite from Londoners for these fantastic tours offering a chance to see this exciting metamorphosis first-hand.�

Whole sections of the park are being rebuilt with new cafes, community centres and gardens added, as part of an 18-month scheme costing £292mil (RM1.411bil). The Riverside Hockey Arena has been dismantled, the largest McDonald’s in the world has gone and the temporary seating stands on the Aquatics Centre are being taken down.

The competitors’ accommodation is being transformed into almost 3,000 luxurious flats, new homes and schools are under construction and the whole area will be surrounded by a new park.

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park reopens in part in July and will re-open fully from next year. Planners hope that within 20 years, the new district will be home to 8,000 people. It will still host sporting events, however, from football to athletics.

The London Anniversary Games will be held at the Olympic Stadium in July, including the Diamond League athletics meeting, which expects to attract stars like Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

English Premier League club West Ham United will then become the main tenants of the £429mil (RM2.073bil) venue, which hosted the athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies.

The 80,000 capacity stadium will be converted to a 54,000-seater venue in time for the 2016-2017 football season. – AFP RelaxNews