Forest City (Johor)

Forest City Johor is an integrated residential development located on the slopes of Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru District, Johor, Malaysia on 1,370 hectares. Announced in 2006 as a twenty-year project, the project was pitched under China's Belt and Road Initiative.[1] Opened by then-Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and approved by the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.[2] Forest City in Johor is in partnership with Esplanade Danga 88, an affiliate of the Johor People's Infrastructure Group (KPRJ), through a joint venture, Country Garden Holding Ltd (CGPV), with CGPV hold 60 percent of the meanwhile KPRJ holds 40 percent shareholding.[3]

Forest City
City
Forest City
Flag
Emblem
Forest City
   Forest City in    Malaysia
Forest City
Forest City (Asia)
Forest City
Forest City (Earth)
Coordinates: 01°20′10″N 103°35′29″E
Country Malaysia
State Johor
DistrictJohor Bahru
Government
 • BodyIskandar Puteri City Council
Time zoneUTC+8 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+8 (Not observed)
Postal code
80xxx to 81xxx
Area code(s)07
Vehicle registrationJ
Websitewww.forestcitycgpv.com
Forest City Phoenix International Marina Hotel

Forest City is under the management of the Iskandar Puteri City Council and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority.

Controversy

The development has been controversial, with allegations of corruption and environmental damage due to land reclamation.[4] Country Garden had been initially allowed to proceed without a detailed environmental impact assessment nor any required reclamation permits.[5] In contrast to Singapore where reclaimed land has to settle for years before construction can begin, Country Garden rushed land reclamation in under 90 days. A consultant noted that "cracks are clearly visible in both the Show Gallery and hotel buildings and sections of the new road and dispersal link show signs of settlement and ground-level sinking".[6] While Country Garden employed some locals in Johor, most of Forest City’s workforce are low-wage labourers from South Asia or white-collar Chinese workers who were hired to cater to Chinese clientele. [7]

The project was targeted at upper-middle-class Chinese citizens looking to park wealth abroad, offering relatively affordable seafront properties compared to expensive coastal city like Shanghai.[8][4] However, initial strong sales from mainland China collapsed after PRC President Xi Jinping implemented currency controls to stop currency depreciation. Newly-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, who had defeated incumbent Najib Razak by criticizing Chinese investment, issued a "ban" on foreigners buying property in 2018,[9] only to reverse his stance later.[10][11]

The project was described by Foreign Policy as a "massive boondoggle".[4] By the end of 2019, only 15,000 units had been sold,[12] compared to an eventual target of 700,000,[13] and as few as 500 people actually lived in the development.[4]

Location

Forest City is located in Tanjung Kupang Village next to Tanjung Pelepas Port, within the Iskandar Malaysia Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Johor. The City comprises four human-made islands.

Forest City was originally a mangrove swamp populated by locals who worked as farmers and fishers in Kampung Tanjung Kupang.

Types of access

See also

References
  1. Bloomberg News (23 June 2017). "The $100 Billion City Next to Singapore Has a Big China Problem". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  2. "Malaysia's Forest City to hand over more than 20,000 residential units this year as it unveils new golf course". South China Morning Post. 9 Sep 2019.
  3. "Forest City, Country Garden Pacificview". 13 April 2017.
  4. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/21/malaysia-china-forest-city-development-project/
  7. Saha, Sagatom. "Chinese Companies Are Worse at Business Than You Think". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  9. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Malaysia-in-transition/Mahathir-foreign-ownership-ban-rattles-100bn-China-led-project
  10. "Foreigners can buy Forest City units, but will not be issued residential visas: Mahathir". The Straits Times. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  11. "Malaysia says committee to study Forest City project". Reuters. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  12. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Property/Coronavirus-slows-China-funded-100bn-city-in-Malaysia
  13. Saha, Sagatom. "Chinese Companies Are Worse at Business Than You Think". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
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