Knock, knock. Who’s there? It’s the new Johor
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia is pushing ahead with a grand plan to turn sleepy Johor state into a metropolis similar to China’s Shenzhen or Hong Kong.
Significantly, the development which Malaysia hopes will attract billions of dollars in global investments will be right on Singapore’s doorstep.
The state’s administrative capital will shift from Johor Baru to Bandar Nusajaya in the southern tip of Johor, closer to Singapore.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, “It will be one of the global new growth centres. Therefore we have to be competitive to draw investors. It has good potential to be successful.”
Malaysia hopes the 20-year plan for the new city will attract US$105 billion in investments from the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
The project, called the Iskandar Development Region, will be 2.5 times the size of Singapore and cover an area of 2,217 square kilometres (853 square miles) – making it the largest integrated development in the country.
“We have to compete to offer our best advantages. There is no way to expect sympathy from anybody. We have to survive from our high standards of performance, based on efficiency, integrity and good governance,” said the PM.
In a development that mirrors those taking place in Dubai, the Johor project will include exclusive residential homes, a logistics hub, a waterfront city, a medical hub, a theme park and an educational city
Business and leisure tourism will be one of the keys to the new super city. Last Friday Singapore-based AmanResorts signed to develop a luxury resort to be completed in 2009, and Air Asia chief Tony Fernandes said that his budget Tune Hotels would develop a property by early next year.
Ian Jarrett
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