Malaysia Strengthens ASEAN-China Commitment Towards Sustainable Cities, Quality Housing
IPOH (Perak, Malaysia), Aug 1 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN-China Ministerial Roundtable Conference on Construction and Housing (ACMROCH) 2026 serves as an important platform for strengthening regional cooperation to address the challenges of urbanisation, housing, and sustainable urban development.
Malaysian Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said ACMROCH 2026 strategically aligns with this global framework, by uniting the efforts of ASEAN, China, and the broader international partners, to ensure that regional urban development is in lockstep with UN-Habitat's mission.
“… to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities. Through ACMROCH 2026, we will guide this urban growth with wisdom, innovation, and sustainability,” he said.
He said this when delivering his keynote adress at ACMROCH 2026, here, Saturday.
Also present was Housing and Urban Rural Development Minister of China, Ni Hong.
The conference themed “Sustainable Cities, Quality Housing, and Cohesive Communities’ brings together 300 participants, including Ministers, senior government officials, and delegates from 11 ASEAN member states.
Nga said AMROCH 2026 presents three clear goals - sustainability, meaning growing in a way that respects the environment and cares for the people; quality housing (ensuring the benefits of growth are felt at home, in safe, comfortable, and reliable places to live) and cohesive communities (ensuring that progress brings people closer together, build trust and a shared future for everyone).
Meanwhile, Nga also noted that the roundtable is structured around four interconnected priorities which are advancing energy-efficient and climate-responsive housing, promoting value-driven housing and inclusive urban growth, strengthening resilient urban services and sustainable infrastructure and fostering cohesive communities and liveable neighbourhoods.
On another note, Nga said Malaysia proudly champions the implementation of the New Urban Agenda as the current president of the UN-Habitat Assembly.
In Malaysia, he said, the philosophy is at the core of Malaysia MADANI, and progress must be guided by an ethical compass.
“We want to build cities that serve the human heart, neighbourhoods where children grow up in joy, and public spaces that prove development only matters when it improves people's lives.
“This vision aligns perfectly with the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045-creating a region that is resilient, forward-looking, and deeply centred on its people,” he said.
He also noted that today, over 57 per cent of the global population resides in urban areas and in the Asian region, this transformation is even more staggering, as the continent now homes more than half of the world's total urban citizens, pushing its regional urbanisation rate past 54 per cent.
He said the speed of this shift is undeniable as the People's Republic of China has achieved a historic urbanisation rate of 67 per cent, while Malaysia stands at an advanced 78 per cent.
“This massive demographic concentration places immense structural pressure on our regional infrastructure, our housing stock, and our energy grids.
“The demand for sustainable, affordable, and climateresilient urban management is no longer a distant policy echo; it is an immediate, mathematically undeniable challenge impacting the daily lives of hundreds of millions,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
