Johor developers seek incentives

PETALING JAYA: Property developers in Johor, want the incentives given to foreign investors to be extended to local developers who want to be more involved in the development of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR), says Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Johor branch chairman Steven Shum.

“These incentive packages, including the tax exemptions as well as the waiving of the bumiputera quota, will certainly benefit us. Not only will it enable local developers to help grow the state economy, we will also be able to bring development standards to the next level,” he told theSun.

Although investments seem to be pouring in and the infrastructure works on the 2,217 sq km IDR, have commenced, Shum feels the overall development of the IDR is “slow”.

“The infrastructure work is being done in bits and pieces... not integrated and there is no clear picture when the IDR will actually kick off,” he said.

It has been reported the economic corridor in the southern part of Johor, has attracted foreign direct investments as well as domestic investments amounting to some RM22 billion. This does not include the RM6.5 billion that has been allocated for the project under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

By 2010, the objective of IDR is to achieve investments totalling RM47 billion and economic growth of 8%. Apart from the countries from the Middle East, targeted investors include those from Singapore, China, India and Indonesia.

“We are planning dialogue sessions with the state government about our intentions to get more involved with the development of the IDR,” said Shum, adding that developers in the state have only had one or two dialogue sessions with the IDR authorities since the launch of the project in 2006.

By theSun (by Loo Pik Kwan)