Iskandar Malaysia

Iskandar Malaysia

The future view of Iskandar Malaysia

Iskandar Malaysia (IM), formerly known as Iskandar Development Region (IDR) and South Johor Economic Region (SJER) is the main southern development corridor in Johor. The Iskandar Malaysia was established on 30 July 2006.The project is administered by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and was named after the late Sultan of Johor, Almarhum Sultan Iskandar

The Iskandar Malaysia Project is termed "Malaysia's Super Economic Corridor" costing over US 100 billion dollars and over two decades to build. This is one of the largest size economic development regions in Asia in recent history

Iskandar Malaysia (within the state of Johor) is strategically positioned on the world’s busiest shipping routes, and its rich endowment of natural and human resources has both underpinned Johor’s past successes and underscores Johor’s future potential. 

The development region encompasses an area of 2,217 square kilometers covering the city of Johor Bahru and the adjoining towns of Pontian, Senai, Pasir Gudang and the construction of a new administrative capital in Nusajaya. Johor Bahru District is included in its entirety, as are parts of the district of Pontian. Five local planning authorities have jurisdiction over the covered area, including Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (Johor Bahru City Council), Majlis Perbandaran Johor Bahru Tengah (Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council), Majlis Perbandaran Pasir Gudang (Pasir Gudang Municipal Council), Majlis Perbandaran Kulai (Kulai Municipal Council), and Majlis Daerah Pontian (Pontian District Council).

The special economic zone of Iskandar Malaysia grew out of a 2005 government requested feasibility study by the Khazanah Nasional which found that the development of such a zone would be economically, socially and developmentally beneficia. The National SJER Planning Committee (NSPC), hearing Khazanah's findings, put it in charge of developing a sustainable, holistic approach to development in the region. Iskandar Malaysia was singled out as among the high-impact developments of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, put into action by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia (Abdullah Badawi) in March 2006 to cover the period of 2006 to 2010. In November 2006, the Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Johor, Abdul Ghani Othman and Khazanah revealed the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP).

 

Iskandar Malaysia is modelled after the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, it is envisaged to capitalize on its current synergies with Singapore as it aims to complement each other as an economic hub.

The advantages of Iskandar Malaysia are:

• GDP/Capita in Purchasing Power Parity - USD9,265 in 2005, 30-year GDP growth between 7% and 8%.
• South Johor accounts for 60% of State's GDP with services sector largest source of growth.
• Access to a large, educated workforce that is skilled and proficient in English, Bahasa Malaysia and other international languages.
• A mixture of green-fields and brown-fields, less expensive than Singapore & Hong Kong.
• State of the art telecommunications with efficient & transparent public institutional framework.
• Dynamic, knowledge-based clusters including information technology, biotechnology, tourism - education & healthcare, Islamic finance, manufacturing and electrical and electronic industry.
• World-class land, sea & air cargo facilities that allow good supply and distribution of raw materials.
• Ultra modern airport in Senai, handling 1.25 million visitors and over 7,500 tonnes of cargo in 2005.
• Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Pasir Gudang- established world-class transshipment ports of Malaysia.
• Excellent international tourist destinations and sports facilities, including shopping and healthcare & wellness.
• Low inflation rate (less than 3.5%) & unemployment rate of 3-4 %.

The video of Iskandar Malaysia