Iskandar Malaysia: Vision versus reality
The Edge Singapore 6/09/2019, 7:00am
SINGAPORE (Sept 9): It did not take long for pundits a decade ago to conclude that the key to Iskandar Malaysia’s success would be Singapore’s participation. And indeed, cheap real estate and the promise of development and growth did lure many, both companies and private investors, over the Causeway. Thirteen years and billions of dollars later, the investor profile has changed even as investors here have been poorly rewarded.
The region, as a special economic zone spanning an area in southern Johor about three times the size of Singapore, was dubbed the “next Shenzhen”. It would leverage its proximity to Singapore, along with the abundant land and cheap labour that Johor had to offer, and be the city state’s “hinterland”, a lower-cost manufacturing hub for its companies. The idea was that Singapore and Malaysia would collaborate to develop the area and offer international investors the best of both worlds — Malaysia’s lower costs of operations and extensive resources and Singapore’s high-tech and service capabilities. The development was projected to attract about US$105 billion in foreign direct investment and create more than 800,000 jobs for a population of three million by 2025.
However, take-up from Singapore was slow. By 2011, only 5% of the total investment into the region came from Singapore, as this paper reported at the time.
But momentum picked up soon after that, spurred by the completion of so-called “catalytic” projects, such as the international schools and the Lego land and Hello Kitty theme parks, and the signing of a new economic cooperation agreement between Singapore and Malaysia. With that came various announcements of extra connectivity over the Strait of Johor. There were plans for a SingaporeKuala Lumpur High Speed Rail and a Singapore-Johor Rapid Transit System. There was talk of a third road link between the two countries and a new ferry service that would run between Puteri Harbour and Singapore.
In 2013, a number of major developments out of Singapore were announced. One was a joint venture between CapitaLand, Temasek Holdings and Iskandar Waterfront to build a $3.2 billion township in Danga Bay. The other was a massive integrated project, Vantage Bay, with a major residential, retail and entertainment complex, that billionaire Peter Lim was going to build on 9.32ha of freehold waterfront land, which his investment holding firm Rowsley purchased for $358 million. Lim was also going to develop a RM3.5 billion Motorsports City in a joint venture with UEM Land. The Malaysian developer was also in a JV with Singapore’s Ascendas Land to develop a tech park at Nusajaya.....
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