Gulf Capital Powers Malaysia’s Smart City Ambition in Medini
Gulf investors are backing a bold vision in Malaysia: the creation of a new city designed for sustainability, connectivity, and livability. Medini, located at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula just across a channel from Singapore, is set to be home to 400,000 residents once complete, placing it among the region’s largest urban developments.
Unlike many Gulf mega-developments emerging from desert landscapes, Medini rises amid lush palm groves, yet the investment roster reads like a familiar Middle Eastern playbook. Dubai-based United World Infrastructure (UWI) holds a stake in the master developer, Medini Iskandar Malaysia (MIM), alongside Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and Kuwait Finance House.
“Our vision is to have Medini as a smart city of tomorrow, with liveability, connectivity, and safety at its core,” says Zulaifah Abdul Ghani, acting head of MIM.
Lessons From Dubai
UWI’s Imran Markar says Dubai’s development experience heavily influenced Medini. Key takeaways included master-planning, high-quality infrastructure, attracting anchor tenants, and a one-stop shop for investors to simplify land acquisition.
“Dubai has done a lot of things well, but many Gulf cities are transport-centric rather than people-centric, and environmental efficiency was often overlooked,” he explains. “Medini aims to address this from the ground up.”
The city is being designed at a human scale, with walkable neighborhoods, open spaces, and strategically placed bodies of water. Covered walkways protect residents from frequent rain, and exercise paths and parks are integrated to promote wellbeing.
“Planning these elements early makes energy use, waste management, and transport systems far more efficient,” Markar adds.
Plug-and-Play Infrastructure
Medini is also corporate-friendly, with infrastructure already embedded: power, water, sewers, and communications are in place beneath the city.
“Roll-out time for projects here is significantly less than anywhere else because the infrastructure is already ready,” says Sujit Parhap, CEO of Global Capital & Development, an investor part-owned by Mubadala and Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties.
An Alternative Hub to Singapore
Medini is part of the broader Iskandar development, a plan to modernize southern peninsular Malaysia. The city incorporates solar panels, rainwater harvesting, green walls, electric vehicles, motion sensors, and district cooling systems. Hybrid buses have also been introduced on a trial basis.
Several thousand residents have already moved in, and corporate tenants include Frost & Sullivan, Pinewood Studios, and Huawei. Its proximity to Singapore positions Medini as an alternative business hub, with targeted tax breaks and incentives encouraging relocation.
“We used Singapore’s standards for infrastructure, from street lighting service agreements to landscaping schedules, to set a benchmark here,” says Markar.
While Medini is far cheaper than Singapore, perception challenges remain, as the area is still viewed as a “backwater” by some.
“With space at a premium in Singapore and rising costs, Medini is well-positioned to capture demand,” notes Khairil Anwar Ahmad, CEO of Iskandar Investment Berhad.
A Global Model for Urban Development
While Markar is cautious about positioning Medini as a definitive template, he sees its approach as a model for meeting global urban infrastructure needs.
“Urbanization is accelerating worldwide. Governments face budget constraints, so private capital must fund new cities. There is a huge surplus of capital and a huge need. This is not charity—it’s an interesting, replicable model, and the proof of concept is here,” he says.
Medini may well signal the next wave of smart, sustainable cities, attracting global investors seeking both financial returns and socially responsible urban solutions.
