| Maha Sinnathamby | |
|---|---|
| Born | Malaysia |
| Residence | Brisbane, Australia |
| Occupation | Property Developer,[1] Civil Engineer |
Maha Sinnathamby [2] is a Malaysian Australian businessman and property developer of Tamil ancestry. He lived in a rubber estate Rantau before moving to Australia and becoming an entrepreneur with a vision to build an entire city.
Sinnathamby founded Greater Springfield[3] almost 20 years ago on nearly 3000 hectares outside of Brisbane. Springfield is now a community of more than 21,000 residents living, working and raising families. Predictions are that the population will swell by more than 100,000 people within the next 20 years into a city the size of Darwin.
Sinnathamby’s work was acknowledged globally last year with the city being named the world's best master-planned community by the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI).[4]
Other awards include:
Sinnathamby is passionately committed to uplifting society through education, which he credits as having played a transformative role in his life. This passion has been translated into a booming education precinct within Greater Springfield called Education City which boasts 8,500 students and a university, a technical college and eight schools.
He has also established a program of scholarships within Greater Springfield and takes a particular pride in seeing people with limited access to education blossom and reach their potential.[11]
An equivalent health precinct, Health City, is under construction and will offer Springfield residents and the wider region access to a range of professional health services.
Mr Sinnathamby’s desire to build a city with a strong sense of community is evident in his commitment to social philanthropy and he has donated more than $200 million of land and funds for vital social infrastructure.
His company has donated land for schools, an ambulance station, a police station, a highway and a heavy rail line due for completion in 2013.[12]