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Johor's IDR taking off with 12 mega projects worth $3b
Wed, Jan 02, 2008 The Straits Times
JOHOR BARU - TWELVE mega projects worth at least RM7 billion (S$3 billion) are expected to kick off this year under south Johor's Iskandar Development Region (IDR), giving the local economy a boost. According to the New Straits Times (NST), the slew of construction investments, which were announced last year and are worth RM7.63 billion, will begin by April. They include property developments in and around Nusajaya, where the state government's new headquarters will be located. Among the projects slated to begin is a RM4.2 billion initiative by Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties, which will include a leisure zone, residential areas, amusement parks, golf courses and a medical centre.

'We have streamlined the package of regulations and incentives for these developers, and they will begin their projects soon.'

The IDR is a development corridor in the southernmost part of Johor.

Covering an area about three times the size of Singapore, it is a special economic zone on which the Malaysian government plans to spend billions over the next few years.

The project was launched in November 2006, but it has taken over a year for the details, including the support and incentive packages for investors, to be finalised.

Datuk Abdul Ghani on Monday dismissed concerns that a possible recession in the United States would slow down development projects in the region, saying that smaller countries would enjoy high growth rates.

'Besides the United States and Europe, everybody is optimistic about economic growth and we expect the world rate of growth to go beyond 6 per cent, even in Africa,' he said.

He was confident that the region would continue to attract large foreign and local investments this year.

The projects that are expected to begin this year include the building of public infrastructure, such as the RM1 billion 15km coastal highway from Johor Baru to Nusajaya, and the Eastern Dispersal Link, an 8.5km expressway linking Bukit Chagar and the NorthSouth Expressway.

Other projects include the RM900 million rehabilitation and clean-up of several rivers and the RM500 million Multimedia Super Corridor Cybercity in Kulai.

Last year, the projects implemented included the RM1.5 billion Puteri Harbour and the RM7.8 billion Tanjung Bin power plant.

Meanwhile, the state hopes to be almost squatter-free by 2013 through a RM583 million relocation programme that will house around 8,000 squatters who are presently living within the Iskandar region.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK