Malaysia today (October 29) kicked off the construction of its “Rainforest Canopy” pavilion for the World Expo 2020, a mega global event which opens in Dubai next year.

Designed by Hijjas Architects + Planners, a Kuala Lumpur-based firm, ‘The Rainforest Canopy’ was inspired by Malaysia’s oldest rainforests which include its prehistoric rainforest Taman Negara, in Pahang.

Estimated to be over 130 million years old, Taman Negara is Malaysia's premier national park and one of the world's oldest rainforests.

The construction contractor from Malaysia, Qube Integrated, and local partner, RAQ Contracting will be working together to build the pavilion.

The company was awarded a contract this month to co-develop the site infrastructure which will focus on sustainable design and is set to welcome visitors on October 20, 2020.

The net zero-carbon facility will be coming up within the 4.38-sq-km Sustainability District, said a statement from the Malaysia's Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change (MESTECC).

The Rainforest Canopy Pavilion, detailing Malaysia’s theme “Energising Sustainability”, spans 1,234 sq m, comprising four segments - Energising Today, Energising Tomorrow, Energising Harmony and Energising Business.

While “Energising Today”, focuses on how agri-commodities have shaped the socio-economic development of the country; “Energising Tomorrow”, showcases Malaysia’s commitment to becoming a high-income nation, while reducing carbon emissions.

In addition, “Energising Harmony”, encapsulates how Malaysians of diverse cultures, traditions and races are working together towards the nation’s progress; and “Energising Business”, portrays the role of the private sector, state-owned enterprises and government initiatives in promoting sustainable development across all industries.

Early this month, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had announced that construction of "Malaysia's Net Zero Carbon Pavilion", an initiative to offset the carbon from the Malaysia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, was an important and conscious step towards ensuring that building the structure will be sustainable in the long term.

The offsetting actions will be done in Malaysia through tree planting initiatives which will also ensure that the nation will reforest more land areas, apart from the current programmes being conducted by various national agencies, including the Asean Framework for Climate Change agenda.  

Malaysia's current forest cover is at 55.3 per cent, or 18.3 million hectares of its total land area, exceeding Malaysia's initial commitment to the Rio Earth Summit, which was 50 per cent.

"Malaysia aims to attract $2.5 billion in potential trade and investments, capturing 1,000 business leads with 20 memorandums of understanding or partnership agreements signed in our six-month long participation at Expo 2020 Dubai," said Dr Mohd Nor Azman Hassan, Deputy Commissioner-General for Malaysia in Expo 2020 Dubai.

"Our pavilion provides excellent opportunities for world business communities and calls for business partnerships with our 200 organisations/businesses ranging from sustainable agriculture and agricommodity to energy, STI, environment and climate change, culture, tourism and youth, e-commerce and ICT, trade and 4IR, women and community development," he stated.

Set to be a sustainable architecture, Malaysia’s ‘The Rainforest Canopy’ Pavilion will use energy efficiency features including heli-fans to enhance airflow, self-shading and green landscaping with vertical gardens, solar panels and water harvesting.

The pavilion itself will consume 20 per less energy throughout the six months of operations. Materials used in building the structure will also be reused, once the pavilion is dismantled, said the top official.

Malaysian ambassador to the UAE, Mohd Tarid Bin Sufian said: "Expo 2020 Dubai, themed 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future', the first World Expo ever held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is an excellent opportunity for us to connect and share ideas with more than 190 participating countries and millions of visitors from across the globe."

Tuan Syed Ahmad Syed Mustafa, the acting CEO/COO of GreenTech Malaysia, said: "The country's participation at Expo 2020 Dubai is an important avenue for GreenTech Malaysia to take the lead in expanding our role in innovation and sustainability across all sectors through strategic initiatives at international platforms." -TradeArabia News Service