BY ZAZALI MUSA
New project: Hoe with a model of Eco World’s business park project in Iskandar Malaysia.
JOHOR BARU: Eco World Development Group Bhd is banking on the progress and development taking place in Iskandar Malaysia to attract buyers for its commercial and industrial development projects in south Johor.
Eco World’s Eco South divisional general manager Hoe Mee Ling opined Iskandar Malaysia’s close proximity with Singapore was an added advantage for the company to attract prospective buyers.
“It is a well-known fact that both Johor and Singapore are economically interdependent and complementing each other in economic activities,’’ she said in an interview with StarBiz.
Hoe said that over the years, many Singapore-based companies especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and multinational companies (MNCs) based in the republic had set up operations in south Johor.
She said that most of them still maintained their headquarters or offices in the republic but relocated parts of the operations, especially their manufacturing activities, to Iskandar Malaysia.
“They want to have the best of both worlds, doing business in Iskandar Malaysia with a much lower cost compared with the republic and living in Singapore,’’ said Hoe.
She said it was only logical for the Singapore-based SMEs and the MNCs there to choose Iskandar Malaysia due to Johor Baru’s close proximity with Singapore.
Hoe said that apart from the Singapore companies, the progress and development in Iskandar Malaysia had also attracted both domestic and foreign investors including manufacturers to set up their operations at the economic growth corridor.
She said that the influx of domestic and foreign investors including retailers into South Johor Iskandar was good for developers as they could create demand for commercial and industrial properties.
“On that note we foresee encouraging demand for our ongoing and soon-to-be-launched industrial projects within Iskandar Malaysia,’’ added Hoe.
The projects are Eco Business Park I @ Tebrau Growth Corridor, Eco Business Park II @ Senai to be launched in the third-quarter of 2016 and Eco Business Park III @ Pasir Gudang.
Eco Business Park I, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM3.79bil, is sited on a 247.68ha of which 72.82ha or 30% has been developed. Eco Business Park II, with GDV of RM3bil, sits on a 154.99ha site while Eco Business Park III, with GDV of RM2bil, covers 100.36ha, of which 21.04ha or 21% has already been developed.
