Johor property developers to gain from Iskandar Malaysia

JOHOR BARU: Property developers in Johor stand to benefit in the long run from the development of Iskandar Malaysia, said Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) Johor branch chairman Lee Kim Chai.

Lee said under the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) 2006-2025, Iskandar Malaysia would be transformed into a metropolis of international stature, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the property market in the state, especially in southern Johor.

“The Federal Government is putting in a lot of emphasis and effort on Iskandar to make it successful,” he said in an interview with StarBiz, adding that several projects by both public and private sectors were already taking shape in Iskandar Malaysia, while some others were being implemented.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Government allocated some RM6.83bil for infrastructure projects in Iskandar Malaysia including road building, drainage and river cleaning projects.

Iskandar Malaysia also received a RM1.7bil boost under the recent RM60bil mini budget for the development of infrastructure, hotels, theme parks as well as universities.

“Improvement in road connectivity and travel time are the two main factors that will help attract potential house buyers,” Lee said.

He added that the upcoming Malaysia Property Expo for Johor (Mapex 2009–Johor) was the best platform for developers to market their products amid the economic slowdown.

Mapex 2009-Johor will be held from tomorrow till Sunday at the Johor Baru City Square with 31 developers taking part.

“There are over 8,000 residential and commercial properties worth RM2.7bil in the offing and buyers should take advantage to shop around before deciding to sign on the dotted line,” Lee said.

The last property expo in Johor in November managed to record RM100mil in sales and Rehda Johor was hoping to record a similar figure for the upcoming event, he added.

Iskandar Malaysia, launched on Nov 4, 2006, was the first in a series of economic growth corridors started in the country under former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The other growth corridors are the Northern Corridor Economic Region, East Coast Economic Region, Sabah Development Corridor and Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.

Located in the southern-most part of Johor, Iskandar Malaysia spans over 2,217 sq km covering Johor Baru, Senai-Kulai, Gelang Patah-Pontian and Pasir Gudang-Tanjung Langsat.

By The Star (by Zazali Musa)