KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) has teamed up with Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd to jointly undertake a property project that is estimated to yield RM8 billion in gross development value.
IWH today said its subsidiary Danga Heights Development (DHD) and Metallurgical Corp's units MCC Singapore had formed a joint venture to co-develop 148 acres (60ha) of prime commercial land in Skudai, Johor.
"The large-scale development is scheduled to be developed over the next 10 years and is estimated to yield a gross development value of RM8 billion.
"The project is one of the largest of its kind to be announced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year," the company said.
The joint venture marks MCC Singapore's first major foray into the real estate industry of Malaysia.
It is also one of the biggest foreign direct investments (FDI) in Iskandar Malaysia following the Covid-19 outbreak and is certain to inject renewed confidence as well as encourage further investments in the Johor property industry.
In the first phase, DHD and MCC Singapore will jointly develop a mixed-use development on a 38-acre (15ha) land site.
The project has an estimated gross development value of RM2.88 billion and construction is scheduled to begin in early 2021.
In a virtual land-sale signing ceremony conducted simultaneously in Malaysia, Singapore and China, the cross border event was witnessed by MCC Central Research Institute of Building and Construction general manager and chairman of MCC Singapore Zhu Jianguo as well as Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad.
IWH director Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman and MCC Singapore chief executive officer Tan Zhiyong inked the agreements in Johor and Singapore respectively.
Also present were IWH executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Datuk Lim Kang Hoo and group executive director Lim Chen Herng.
"We envision the project to become the new uptown area of Johor. It will be a smart city characterised by intelligent features and cutting-edge home concepts, and we hope this project can catalyse Johor's urban transformation into an even more thriving and technologically advanced city in the next decade.
"We are certainly upbeat about this mega development project as the land site fronting Skudai is one of the most sought after development locations in Johor mainly due to its proximity to a captive population of affluent households and high density of businesses," Tan said.
Since 2010, MCC Singapore has developed and project managed 15 residential projects in Singapore.
Currently, it is developing JKT Living Star, a 3,648-unit condominium with an adjoining commercial zone in Jakarta and Sky Villa, a 256-unit high-end condominium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
"This will be a landmark development with far-reaching social and economic benefits for the people and the state of Johor. It will likely inject new momentum and excitement into Johor's property landscape," said Lim.
He pointed out that it was also one of the biggest single FDI from Singapore into Johor and the Iskandar Malaysia economic region since the Covid-19 outbreak early this year.