JOHOR, Malaysia -- During morning rush hour, long lines of cars and motorbikes in this southern state snake toward the Johor Strait, where they can cross into Singapore. In the evening, when workers make their way back to Malaysia, a major bottleneck forms in Singapore.
On Friday nights, it can take Malaysian workers in Singapore two or three hours to cross the border. On other nights, it can take less than an hour to get over the strait.
Because prices in Malaysia are much cheaper than in Singapore, many people are opting to live in Johor State and commute to Singapore. Even those who live in Singapore are taking advantage of Johor's price advantage -- by going on weekend shopping expeditions.
For Johor, these trends have been good for economic growth.
Since 2011, the state's economy has grown at a rate faster than that of Malaysia as a whole, except for 2013 when the rates mirrored each other. In 2016, Johor's 5.7% growth rate was fatter than those of Malaysia's other 12 states.
Johor's gross domestic product last year was 104.4 billion ringgit ($24.7 billion), approaching Sarawak's GDP of 108.7 billion ringgit.
Sarawak, across the South China Sea on Borneo Island, is a petroleum producer and is rich in other natural resources. Yet within a few years Johor is expected to become Malaysia's second-largest state economy, after Selangor, which has a GDP of 251.5 billion ringgit.
In Johor, the key economic driver is a massive development project. The Iskandar Malaysia project has plans to develop 2,200 sq. km -- about the area of Tokyo. The project began in 2006 and is expected to continue through 2025.
Buildings are going up across the area. Country Garden Holdings, a leading Chinese developer, in December 2014 began erecting a subproject, Forest City. Excavating and construction has advanced at a rapid clip. Some 16,000 homes were sold in 2016 and another 16,000 are likely to be sold this year. A large-scale hotel has also opened its doors.
Thanks to these developments, Johor's construction sector grew at a 24% clip last year.
John Lu
Rubbish
2017-10-18 20:00