S’wak delegation on study trip to Shanghai

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Christopher Ngui (third right) hands over a souvenir to Hew witnessed by Dr Sim (second left).

KUCHING: The Ministry of Local Government and Housing and Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) are currently in Shanghai and Hangzhou, China to study their housing programmes, green technologies, smart systems used and related policies.

A press release said the delegation led by minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian had a fruitful meeting with the secretary-general of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The latter briefed the visitors on the Shanghai government’s comprehensive housing programme and policies related to affordable housing for its growing population with the involvement of private developers.

“The Shanghai government provides subsidies for certain income group to rent low-cost housing and the rental amount is reviewed every three years. The government has also adopted housing and price control measures where even those with permit to live in Shanghai are allowed to buy only two properties.

“The purchasers are required to show proof of stable tax income for five years. Foreigners are only allowed to purchase one property to control speculative property prices,” the secretary-general said.

“The Shanghai government implements public housing scheme through ‘rent to buy’ schemes where tenants are reviewed every two to six years to monitor their eligibility. Shanghai government-owned properties can be sold after five years but first priority is given to the government to purchase the property.

“To further ease housing problem in Shanghai, the government has developed a master plan for the development of satellite towns. Currently there are 26 satellite towns in Shanghai and the master plan includes large scale development plans with extensive subway connections and multi-tiers highways. Shanghai is striving to be a world financial centre,” he said.

The delegation also received a warm welcome from the Consul-General of Malaysia in Shanghai, Hew Tse Hou. The Consul-General was briefed on the study trip which sought to learn from Shanghai on its successful green building technologies and advanced smart building systems.

One of the most prominent ‘green buildings’ in Shanghai is the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China and the second tallest in the world with a height of 632m.

The super scraper located in Lujiazui financial area is said to have an outstanding “Green Building Design”. S

hanghai Tower is the only supertall tower to achieve LEED (Leadersip in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum but is also part of an increasing movement for towers to market green credentials with the increase in demand for a more sustainable urban development.

The delegation later proceeded to China Mobile Smart Home Experience Centre in Hangzhou where they were exposed to advanced smart home features such as face recognition to open smart door locks and voice access control to perform certain tasks such as making phone calls through land lines or activating the stereo or television.

Smart home gateway allow users to manage their smart devices and network which enables user to perform a range of task such as activating the lights, or even electrical appliances through their mobile phones.

The visitors also learned about China Mobile’s smart city system which helped related authorities monitor general public areas through the installation and implementation of multiple sensors at carefully selected areas in the city.

The highlights of the trip included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Green Trio Flora Sdn Bhd and two China-based companies – China C and Hangzhou Migration.

The MoU was signed during the promotion of Sarawak under Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme and was witnessed by Dr Sim , Assistant Minister of Public Health and Housing Dr Annuar Rapaee and Sheda president Dr Christopher Ngui.

The event was attended by about 50 people including the study trip delegates and invited guests from China.

“Sarawak welcomes people from China to Sarawak since our state has abundant natural resources and clean air,” said Dr Sim in his speech at the event.

He added that property prices in Sarawak are more attractive compared to Shanghai by citing an example: “At  US$200K, you may be able to buy only a small apartment in Shanghai but in Sarawak, you may be able to get a big double-storey house.”

The delegation also visited an interesting and revolutionary Winsun 3-D printing architecture and building construction technology factory.

This 3D building system incorporates recycled materials to produce a building with green elements in one day for a one-bedroom housing, 10 days for a single-storey villa, and 14 days for a 6-storey apartment building.

The 3D system thus saved much time and cost for the developers. Such technology is worth to explore as other countries are considering to mass produce affordable housing even in the desert environment.

Winsun is the first company that achieved construction 3D printing house in the world.