NELSON BENJAMIN, MOHD FARHAAN SHAH, and KATHLEEN ANN KILI The Star 7 Dec 16;
GELANG PATAH: The mammoth Forest City project has attracted investments totalling RM10bil so far and is propelling the economy and creating jobs, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The Prime Minister said the project was not just about property development but involved other positive aspects to it.
“This project is generating the economy and creating jobs, including helping with tourism,” said Najib.
The development would also be a boon for the manufacturing, high tech, services and financial sectors.
“This project has a huge potential,” he said, adding that to date it had also sold 11,000 houses.
Najib was speaking to reporters after a two-day visit to Johor to check on the progress of various projects in the state.
At the forest city, Najib witnessed the signing ceremony between Forest City and 36 other companies before the grand opening of Phoenix Hotel.
Country Garden Pacificview (CGPV) executive director Datuk Md Othman Yusof said the mixed development project was expected to contribute some RM66bil in tax revenue to the country over the next 20 years.
He added that many industries were flocking to Forest City which was expected to contribute RM1.98 trillion to the country’s GDP.
“Forest City is gaining momentum due to its local, regional and global positioning and with a total cumulative investment of US$100bil (RM444bil) will attract returns of sufficient proportion.
“It is expected that Forest City will contribute tax revenue of about RM66bil to the Government over a period of 20 years,” Md Othman said during the signing of strategic initiatives ceremony and grand opening of Phoenix Hotel here yesterday.
The synergic partners are organisations from industries such as medical and healthcare, education and training, tourism, financial services, manufacturing, emerging technologies, smart city as well as green building.
The collaborations include seven companies listed under Fortune 500: Huawei, Cisco, Accenture, Midea, China Construction Steel Structure Corporation, Deutsche Bank (Asia Pacific) and Bank of China (Malaysia).
“This will cumulatively garner Forest City into becoming an economic hub complementing Iskandar Malaysia which will drive new business activities into the sustainable township,” said Md Othman.
He also noted that the completion of the hotel spelled good news for locals, as there would be job opportunities in the services sector, besides spurring tourism.
Md Othman said Phoenix Hotel, located on a 1.71ha plot of land on one of the four man-made islands, was among 50 other hotel chains in China developed by CGPV
Mega projects to give big boost to country’s economy
The Star 7 Dec 16;
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia’s mega infrastructure projects are expected to boost the country's economy by more than 50% to RM2 trillion in the next seven to eight years.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he was hoping to make Malaysia one of the top 20 countries in the world.
“Presently, our economy is about RM1.3 trillion. I am confident that we can achieve this, especially with all our present projects,” he said.
The projects include the High Speed Rail, the Pan Borneo Highway, East Coast Rail Link, Bandar Malaysia and Vision Valley.
“In Johor itself, we have Iskandar Malaysia and the Pengerang oil and gas projects,” he said at the launch of Iskandar Malaysia’s 10-year anniversary here yesterday.
Later, asked on the details as to how he planned to make Malaysia to be among the top 20, he said there were certain criteria which would be announced later.
Najib also commended Iskandar Malaysia for helping to propel the state into a southern economic powerhouse, adding that the growth corridor had so far brought in investments totalling RM221bil and helped to create some 700,000 jobs.
During the event, he also announced special incentives for global business services (GBS), which would be one of the promoted sectors in Medini, Iskandar Malaysia.
“I hope this tax benefit will help make Iskandar Puteri into a hub for GBS,” he said, adding that this move was expected to attract some RM6.5bil in investments and create 14,000 jobs.
Under the incentives, eligible companies can apply for special Medini tax support packages and employees, a personal income tax rate of 15%.
Other plans being carried out in Iskandar Malaysia include RM50mil for a Bus Rapid Transit (first phase), RM280mil for a Sg Segget river upgrading project and other infrastructure development.
Asked about the High Speed Rail, Najib said everything was well and good, adding that it was expected to be signed next week.
“Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has contacted me asking for more time as they needed the consent of their president who is away,” he said, calling this a technical matter.
