JOHOR BARU: The master developer of Forest City has refuted accusations that it is a "failed project".
Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV) said the widely publicised "ghost town" narrative was simply "fear tactics" used to intimidate potential buyers, investors and residents.
CGPV, in a statement to the New Straits Times, said it was unfair to brand the project, which will reportedly be fully completed by 2035, as a failure as it had only commenced seven years ago.
It said since the project was developed by a Chinese company, most of the critical writing and reporting was also fuelled by misconceptions against China.
"On what basis is this project said to have failed? This is a long-term project and we still have a long way to go. It is unfair for anyone to brand this project as a failed project.
"In seven years, we basically are just laying the foundation of the development and there are still many more activities and projects that are in the pipeline," the developer said.
There had been numerous reports claiming that the mega project had failed, including a YouTube channel that had ranked the endeavour as "the second most useless mega project in the world".
Currently, there are 6,000 residents in the development area, including house owners and business tenants.
"Located 2km from Singapore and near the state government administration centre and the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone, Forest City is a good choice among Malaysians working in our neighbouring country and surrounding areas.
"Residential units in Forest City are also being rented out to factories around Gelang Patah to be used as an employees' hostel," it said.
CGPV said the label "ghost town" was made based on biased perceptions without considering the real situation.
"The accusation that Forest City is a ghost town was raised during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
"When the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company took firm measures and complied with the MCO restrictions to ensure workers' and residents' wellbeing.
"As a result, the maintenance work for the landscape and facility fell below optimal level leaving the areas unkempt.
"The accusation was made based on biased perceptions without considering current factors influencing the situation."
The pandemic had also affected many of the small businesses in the area.
"The MCO and the absence of visitors affected the small businesses. The situation has now returned to normal.
"CGPV is actively carrying out activities to promote Forest City with the aim of attracting visitors and boosting traffic into the city.
"We organise festivals, celebrations and public attraction programmes to encourage business owners to set up their business here," it said, adding that the fourth duty-free shop was expected to open soon.
The total investment of Forest City has exceeded RM20 billion, with a total planned reclamation area of 20 sq km.
To date, the completed reclamation area is about 2.83 sq km.
Facilities opened include retail space, the sales gallery, two hotels, commercial units, a golf resort, MJ Healthcare facility, Shattuck-St Mary's Forest City International School and a waterpark.
It has also set up the largest Industrial Building System (IBS) manufacturing plant, which entered the Malaysia Book of Records for being the largest fully automated IBS factory in Malaysia.
Forest City has paid around RM759 million in taxes and fees to government bodies, and created 11,077 job opportunities for upstream and downstream industries.