GEORGE TOWN, Nov 20 — United Nations under-secretary-general and UN-Habitat executive director Datuk Seri Paduka Maimunah Mohd Sharif presented Hamdan Abdul Majeed with the prestigious UN-Habitat Special Citation today.

She added that the Think City managing director Hamdan was selected because he met all the criteria for the annual award.

Penang-born Hamdan, after receiving the award, said the achievement was not a personal milestone.

"It embodies the collective dedication of Think City and our shared aspiration for sustainable urban development,” he said.

Datuk Seri Paduka Maimunah Mohd Sharif said each year, UN-Habitat acknowledges outstanding contributions to human settlements with the Special Citation.

Other notable recipients in the past included Emine Erdogan, the First Lady of Türkiye and this year, the special citation was also presented to Jean Todt, UN Secretary General’s special envoy on road safety, Yucel Yilmaz, president of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye and Rohey Malick Lowe, Mayor of Banjul, Gambia.

Hamdan said he will continue to lead Think City with more initiatives and this time, they are going global.

"We are taking the lessons we have learnt over the years to go global, we can share our experiences with other cities,” he said.

He said Think City will be making an announcement on its proposed global projects early next year.

"We hope to work nearer to home,” he said when asked if the focus will be to offer their expertise to Asian countries.

Earlier, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Think City had implemented more than 250 projects in George Town that transformed the city.

"The transformation of Penang would not be possible without the key initiatives by Think City together with the Penang state government,” he said.

Among the initiatives are the George Town Transformation Programme which distributes grants to communities to revitalise the city, the George Town Conservation and Development Corporation, the Penang Bay project, the nature-based climate adaptation programme for the urban areas of Penang island and the Fort Cornwallis revitalisation project.