Forest City, Johor

Forest City, Johor
Suburb of Iskandar Puteri
Map
Area
 • Total3 km2 (1 sq mi)
Population
[1]
 • Total9,000
 • Density3,000/km2 (7,800/sq mi)
Websiteforestcity.my/en
forestcitycgpv.com
Forest City Phoenix International Marina Hotel

1°20′N 103°35′E / 01.34°N 103.59°E / 01.34; 103.59

Forest City street view

Forest City (Malay: Hutan Bandar Johor[citation needed][dubious – discuss]) is an integrated residential development and private town located in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia. It is located in the southwestern part of Johor Bahru District, the second largest district in Malaysia by population. First announced in 2006 as a twenty-year investment project mostly financed by a consortium of mainland Chinese private real estate developers, pitched under the Belt and Road Initiative.[2]

It was officiated by then Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak in 2016, with the approval of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.[3] Forest City is a joint venture between Esplanade Danga 88, an affiliate of state government subsidiary Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ), through a joint venture, Country Garden Holding Ltd (CGPV), with CGPV holding 60 percent of shares, while KPRJ holds the other 40 percent.[4] Forest City is under the management of the Iskandar Puteri City Council and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority.

The development of Forest City is contentious. The project was not targeted at local Malaysians but rather at upper-middle-class citizens from China who were looking to park their wealth abroad, by offering relatively affordable seafront properties compared to expensive coastal cities within their country such as Shanghai.[5][6] However, initial strong sales from China collapsed after its leader Xi Jinping implemented currency controls, including a $50,000 annual cap on how much buyers could spend outside the country.[6][7] Such lackluster sales were exacerbated by the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, with the project being described as a "ghost town" in 2022.[8][9] The project, which is located on reclaimed land, has also been criticised for causing large amounts of habitat destruction in the vicinity.[10]

  1. ^ "碧桂園馬來西亞森林城市已售逾2萬套住屋 島上物業售價由港幣87萬起", ps.hket.com
  2. ^ Bloomberg News (23 June 2017). "The $100 Billion City Next to Singapore Has a Big China Problem". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  3. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Forest City, Country Garden Pacificview". 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference fp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference monga was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Ryan, Ong (14 April 2017). "The Forest City debacle: 4 lessons to learn buying overseas property". 99.co. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  8. ^ Descalsota, Marielle. "Malaysia's $100 billion luxury estate was supposed to be a 'living paradise.' Instead, 6 years into development, it's a ghost town full of empty skyscrapers and deserted roads — take a look". Insider. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  9. ^ Mohamad Sani, Ahmad Sadiq (16 May 2022). "The ghost town of Forest City". MalaysiaNow. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  10. ^ Shaw, Albert; Ourbis, Sylvian. "Malaysia's Forest City and the Damage Done". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.