Exploring Forest City, Malaysia: The Ambitious Smart Green City of the Future 🌳

These satellite images show an area in southern Malaysia in 2011 and 2018. What we see here is one of the most ambitious urban development projects currently underway; an entire new city built from scratch. This is Forest City, Malaysia. Envisioned as a smart green city of the future, this place aims to be designed like no other. With construction still underway, we can already see the city taking shape. Once completed, this city can house up to 700,000 people with a total project budget of 100 billion USD.

Strategic Location 🌏

To understand why developers believe that their investment will pay off and that people will want to live here, we need to focus on the location. The city is being built in the Malaysian state of Johor in the southern part of the country. Here, the Johor strait acts as a natural border between Malaysia and the independent city-state Singapore. This close proximity to international business hubs is something that Forest City aims to profit from. Singapore is one of the world's most important financial centers and the biggest transshipment port worldwide. In terms of total container handling, it is the world's second busiest port right after Shanghai. The living standard in the city is high; there are many jobs and there is far too little space. Forest City makes itself out as a possible solution for this.

Iskandar Special Economic Zone 🏢

While proximity to Singapore is important, the city is also planned to become a center itself. In 2006, Malaysia founded the Iskandar Special Economic Zone. The government supports a number of projects that are intended to encourage private investment in the region by providing infrastructure and commercial space. The government wants to create a business-friendly environment that encourages the development scene in Singapore to expand across the border.

• Fervor development of the central business district in the city of Johor Bahru
• Creation of international university campuses at EduCity
• Investments into the Tong Zhong Palapas container port
• Construction of a large industrial zone near Senai International Airport

Forest City seems to fit with these plans and could become the center of a growing economic area in close proximity to Singapore. However, only the first island is built and further development depends entirely on demand.

Architectural and Environmental Vision 🌱

The project developers advertise Forest City as being focused on environmental sustainability and improved quality of life. The idea is to blend nature and architecture. The concept envisions creating several levels so that parking spaces and streets disappear beneath green parks, creating a car-free area above ground. The architecture should also follow the same philosophy, as can already be seen with what is built so far.

• Electrical public transport planned
• Digitization to manage resources effectively within the city

The project planners seem aware that this sustainability approach is at odds with the fact that this is a land reclamation project. As much as the city advertises its green approach, it is also criticized for being environmentally harmful. The islands are heaped up in an area with the largest seagrass meadow in Malaysia, which acts as a habitat for diverse marine life. These fragile ecosystems are threatened by land reclamation. The project developer has announced several compensatory measures, including a seagrass plantation and newly planted mangrove forests.

Political and Economic Concerns 💼

In addition to environmental concerns, there were also increasing political concerns. The project is being developed by Country Garden Pacific View, a merger of various investors. With a share of 60%, the main developer is the Chinese company Country Garden, which has already constructed a large-scale housing project in Johor Bahru. The Chinese influence on this project is fueling concerns in Malaysia. This planned city organizes all aspects of urban development and administration by this private merger. Specifically, this means that the city will have private healthcare, private education, and even private security. Much of what is administered by government institutions in other cities will be privately organized, raising concerns about a loss of sovereignty in Malaysia.

Forest City in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative 🌍

To understand these concerns, consider this project in a larger context. Forest City is part of Malaysia's Iskandar economic zone but is also part of the Belt and Road Initiative launched by the Chinese government in 2013. The investments China is making in other countries are strengthening trade between the nations involved, but in some countries, there is a growing concern about the power that China is gaining through these projects. In Malaysia, these divided opinions on Chinese development projects are a key political issue. Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been open to cooperation with China and signed several contracts, including the construction of a railway line by a Chinese company, two pipeline projects, and Forest City.

Political Shifts and Public Perception 🗳️

During the 2018 general election, his challenger and opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad criticized these projects and warned of a Chinese debt trap. Mahathir won the election and during his tenure he changed course on many of these projects, including Forest City. He commented negatively on the project and made clear that buying an apartment in the city does not automatically entitle buyers to a visa. The new political climate surrounding projects with Chinese participation also led to caution among prospective tenants, and Forest City got into an imbalance from the start. The project was primarily advertised towards Chinese citizens, and critics note that the apartments can’t be afforded by much of the local Malaysian population.

Addressing Concerns and Future Prospects 🔍

Critics feared that what was being built is a Chinese city within Malaysian territory. The project developer, therefore, tries to address these concerns by preferring local Malaysian companies in the region for awarded contracts. It was also announced that more affordable housing units would be offered, and the project will not only be tailored towards Chinese interests. There is hope that foreign investment can enable mutual growth and increase ties between nations in a way that is beneficial to both countries. However, there is also concern that investments can lead to dependency and result in a loss of sovereignty. These considerations are what make Forest City a controversial project, and such considerations are necessary anytime there is a large amount of foreign investment into a developing region. For a better experience visit our official blog portal

Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Name*

Email*

Comment*

Send

• Share on:
• WhatsApp
• Deel
• Tweet
• Pin it
• Messenger
• Email

---