George Town’s RM40m flood-proof fort reopening marks rare UNESCO success

GEORGE TOWN, 21 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

George Town’s RM40 million Fort Cornwallis reopened on July 25 after a decade-long restoration that transformed the 1786 British-built fort into a flood-mitigation system while preserving its heritage.

The RM40 million restoration—part of a broader RM12.6 million (S$12.6 million) decade-long effort—reinstated Fort Cornwallis’s moats as a stormwater drainage system, while the surrounding North Seafront now features green public spaces accessible to both locals and tourists.

Unlike many heritage zones, George Town retains a mix of traditional businesses, hawkers, and long-term residents alongside boutique hotels and cafes, with the George Town World Heritage Incorporated maintaining a register of hundreds of traditional trades still operating in the core.

Tourism boosted guest numbers to 6 million annually by 2008, up from 4–5 million pre-inscription, but the city has resisted becoming a "theme park." Hamdan Majeed, managing director of urban planning group Think City, said the key was preserving the city’s identity: "A space has layers of history, stories. It’s about people. It’s about what creates that identity."

Yet gentrification has taken a toll. Baker Sherliyn Kang, 51, who grew up in a George Town shophouse, now runs a café supply business after her family moved to nearby Pulau Tikus due to rising rents. "My children grew up in a George Town shophouse. But it eventually got too chaotic," she said. "On the other hand, I taught myself to bake and businesses here needed computer systems.

It’s sad to see how George Town has changed but it has also brought opportunity for young people."

Joachim Leong, co-owner of the world-ranked Ome by Spacebar Coffee, has thrived since the UNESCO listing but acknowledges the trade-offs. "Any business would welcome more footfall. But tourism has its peaks and troughs. Our local regulars give us a sustainable baseline," he said. Unlike Melaka or Hoi An, where tourism has displaced most locals, George Town’s approach—led by Think City, a Khazanah Nasional initiative—has prioritized liveability over pure commercialization.

The North Seafront’s redesign, including the Astaka Kota Selera foodcourt with passive cooling and rainwater harvesting, reflects this balance. Luis Monreal of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture called it "a unique case of conservation driven by citizens who saw heritage as both an identity anchor and an economic asset."

While rising costs have pushed some residents away, the city’s model—blending heritage preservation with flood resilience and local commerce—offers a template for other UNESCO sites grappling with tourism pressures. For Kang, despite the changes, "George Town will always feel like home." The challenge now is whether the city can sustain this equilibrium as global tourism demand rises.

Related: Khazanah Nasional · Fort Cornwallis · Luis Monreal · George Town