TMJ refutes claim that Forest City project a failure

JOHOR BAHRU: The Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said the claim that the Forest City project in Iskandar Puteri was a failed mega project was untrue and a slander spread by certain quarters.

Sharing on the project development via his Facebook, the Crown Prince said Forest City was a project being continuously and sustainably developed.

Tunku Ismail said the project had contributed RM630 million in income to the state government in the forms of, among others, tax and dividends, besides having created 1,200 employment opportunities for the locals and awarded contracts worth RM1.4 billion to 150 local construction companies.

"This has directly opened up the opportunity to develop the construction industry in Johor for the long term," His Highness said.

According to Tunku Ismail, Forest City also received the Global Model of Low-Carbon City Planning and Design Award at the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) ceremony (held online) at the end of last month.

"This shows that the project has not failed but on the other hand, it has attracted the attention of the world with its technological developments," he said.

Recently, a video of over a 16-minute duration viraled on social media claimed that Forest City was among five mega projects that were unprofitable and the most useless in the world.

Tunku Ismail said the COVID-19 pandemic, which not only hit Johor but also the whole world, posed challenges and the subsequent unfavourable economic situation had also resulted in the low rates of sales.

He hoped that more investors would come to Malaysia when the economic situation improves.

-- BERNAMA