KUALA LUMPUR: The green building fever is fast catching on in Malaysia and there are now 200 development projects certified by Green Building Index (GBI) as being green buildings.
Developers are realising that despite the marginal rise in building costs when they decide to make their projects "green", there are marked advantages to doing so, like their properties fetching higher prices and the developments being associated with prestige.
At the moment, many developers see green certifications for their buildings as a quick ticket to bigger profit and a mean to raise the gross development value of their projects.
However, architect Von Kong Leong, the immediate past president of Malaysia Green Building Confederation, feels it is a start to a trend that is surely to stay for the long term and will become more pervasive and, ultimately, become part of the local property scene.
Developers are realising that despite the marginal rise in building costs when they decide to make their projects "green", there are marked advantages to doing so, like their properties fetching higher prices and the developments being associated with prestige.
At the moment, many developers see green certifications for their buildings as a quick ticket to bigger profit and a mean to raise the gross development value of their projects.
However, architect Von Kong Leong, the immediate past president of Malaysia Green Building Confederation, feels it is a start to a trend that is surely to stay for the long term and will become more pervasive and, ultimately, become part of the local property scene.
He said the World Green Building Council, which is a network of national green building councils in more than 90 countries, recognises GBI.
Von said GBI was initiated in January 2009 and launched in May the same year.
The GBI currently issues four levels of certifications: normal, silver, gold and platinum.
Typically, said Von, a normal "green" certification will increase the cost of a development project by anywhere between zero and three per cent; silver (one and five per cent); gold (three and eight per cent); and platinum five and 10 per cent).
These certifications are becoming increasingly important to companies that are looking for buildings that are more environmentally-friendly, said Von.
Read more: Green building fever fast spreading in Malaysia http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/gregre/Article/index_html#ixzz2lnYwb4Bm
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