BY NELSON BENJAMIN AND KATHLEEN ANN KILI

Business-friendly project: Ahmad Zahid (second from right), Mohamed Khaled (middle), Johor Corp president and CEO Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim (next to Ahmad Zahid) looking at a model of the Ibrahim International Business District after the ground-breaking.

JOHOR BARU: Some RM250mil in allocation will be channelled for the development of the Persada Link Bridge and flyover within the Ibrahim International Business District (IIBD).

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the allocation had been approved by the Federal Government through the Public-Private Partnership Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department.

“Both components are infrastructure to be constructed to further improve connectivity in IIBD,” he said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the IIBD public infrastructure here yesterday.

The link bridge will be a 268m walk, connecting JB Sentral to Persada Annexe with conducive, comfortable and pedestrian-friendly streetscape and linkages, while the flyover will link Tebrau Corridor to IIBD connecting Coronation Square.

Mohamed Khaled said IIBD was set to become another economic brand for Johor after Pengerang and Iskandar Malaysia, each of which has its own niche and focus.

“We want IIBD to develop and expand to be on par with business districts in foreign countries such as the Sydney CBD in Australia, Downtown Toronto in Canada, Beijing Business Central District in China and Seoul Special City in South Korea,” he said.

The main component of the project, which covers 101ha, is Coronation Square, which will include a medical suite, three blocks of serviced apartments, an office tower and a hotel building.

Besides boosting entrepreneurship in the state, IIBD will also see special initiatives to create a more balanced demography in the sector.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony, commended the Johor government for its efforts to provide better public amenities and services for the people.

“I hope that the rakyat will appreciate all these initiatives and continue to support the state under BN.

“We do not want a situation where the government put in a lot of effort to bring foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic direct investment into Penang and Selangor, but when the

Opposition won in the states, it claimed credit for the effort,” he said.

He added that Johor was at the top of the list for FDI with RM31.1bil last year, and was the highest in the manufacturing sector with RM78.8bil in investments.

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