Malaysia to develop Johor state as a counter to Singapore

Mumbai: Malaysia proposes to invest nearly 382 billion ringgit ($104.7 billion) in its southernmost state of Johor over the next 20 years to boost growth.

Malaysia's state-owned investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, said the development of the Southern Johor Economic Region, which is 2.5 times the size of Singapore, will require investments of 47 billion ringgit from 2006 to 2010 and another 335 billion ringgit from 2011 to 2025.

``The South Johor Economic Region is one of the most important and ambitious initiatives,'' Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in Johor. ``Our vision is to make South Johor the new international address for business, investment, leisure and culture,'' he added.

Malaysia is trying to project itself as an alternative trade and investment destination to Singapore. The Johor area has already 30 billion ringgit of projects under way involving companies like Port of Tanjung Pelepas, UEM Land Sdn. and Johor Corp., Khazanah.
The government and companies have committed another 20 billion ringgit of investments, it said.

The proposed projects include a waterfront real estate development, 4.3 billion ringgit of government spending on roads, security and sewerage, and 10 billion ringgit investments in property projects by investors from Asia and the Middle East.

Malaysia also plans to develop hubs like the eastern corridor growth area along three states on the east coast of the Malay peninsula and the Northern Peninsular Development Zone, which covers four states on the northwest coast.