Property News · January 25, 2016

Cars aren’t welcome in Iskandar Malaysia’s humongous, new eco-city


Multibillion-dollar project covers four man-made islands
Forest City is reportedly Southeast Asia’s largest | Image courtesy of Country Garden Holding Co Ltd
The first phase of Forest City, a mixed-use, sustainable development spanning 13.86 sq km in Iskandar Malaysia, was recently unveiled for public viewing to whet the appetite of regional investors.
Dubbed “Southeast Asia’s largest green city” development, the ambitious joint venture project is nestled on Island Oases, located in one of Malaysia’s top investment hubs, Iskandar.
It must be recalled that the mega-project was put on hiatus for several months in 2015. Development resumed in Q3 2015 after authorities declared that the restarted project met environmental standards.
The whole development has a 20-year development cost of MYR175.8 billion (USD41.41 billion) and will cover four man-made islands in the Johor Strait, according to a press release.
Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Johor’s Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd are the developers of the mega-project, which entails a multi-layered three-dimensional plan to become a model smart city of the future, with lush vertical greenery and a mostly car-free environment.
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While it is meant to be a car-free zone, Forest City will feature smart amenities such as a highly efficient public transportation system, which includes a ferry network and a planned high-speed rail service linking the city to Singapore.
Forest City is said to be Country Garden’s biggest venture outside China, one of the top sources of overseas buyers in the eco-city, where 80 percent of a 9,000 unit development has already been sold.
Despite the slowdown in the Chinese economy, the developers said it will have minimal impact on Forest City’s sales targets.
“There’re always economic cycles, we are prepared for any downturn or slowdown… Based on our study and our performance in China, we are still doing very well,” Jeffery Lin, Country Garden’s chief strategy officer, told The Strait Times.
Malaysians approximately make up 30 percent of prospective buyers of Forest City’s first phase of development, while 20 percent were Singaporeans. The rest are from China and other countries.
In addition to the upscale residential units ranging from two- to four-bedrooms (sized between 818 sq ft and 1,915 sq ft), the mega-city will also feature coastal high-rise residences and gated communities, along with spaces for education, healthcare, offices and leisure. The total number of units for sales are yet to be determined.
Read next: Is corruption restricting Malaysia’s real estate sector’s potential to move ahead its ASEAN neighbours?

Source : property-report.com
Read more…Cars aren’t welcome in Iskandar Malaysia’s humongous, new eco-city

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