JCorp still has 2,000ha Iskandar land for projects

JOHOR Corp, the investment arm of the Johor state government, has another 2,000ha to be developed in the Iskandar Malaysia region, said chief executive officer Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim.

"The landbank is there for future development of industries in the growth region," he said in an interview with Business Times in Bangi, Selangor, yesterday.

While the newer part of the growth corridor located in the west of the state, namely in the Tanjung Pelepas and Nusajaya areas have attracted strong interest, Pasir Gudang and the Tanjung Langsat Port in the east, are equally vibrant.

"With good infrastructure, power, electricity and gas readily available, industries can look to setting up operations here, while the new bridge linking to Desaru provides good connectivity."
The Tanjung Langsat Port, run by a subsidiary of JCorp, is almost ready and it will be the new oil and gas hub. It has already attracted RM4 billion in foreign investments from France, Korea, Spain and Germany.

These include Erndtebrucker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co KG, the German heavyweight steel pipe manufacturer and Bahru Stainless Sdn Bhd, which is 67 per cent owned by Spanish company Acerinox, and 33 per cent by Japan's Nisshin Steel.

"We have received quite a bit of interest from foreign investors and we are now currently engaged with discussions with investors from China."

The oil and gas hub has also attracted keen interest from Singapore-based small- and medium-sized enterprises.

It was reported last month that Johor has secured more than RM50 billion in new foreign direct investments in the oil and gas sector.

"We'll attract capital-intensive investments that the government is pursuing, which provides a good chance of reducing dependence on foreign workers and, at the same time, providing quality jobs with higher income for Malaysians."

JCorp spent RM1 billion in constructing an industrial complex in Tanjung Langsat.

Across Johor, the investment arm has 40,000ha planted with oil palm trees, some of which have the potential for property and industrial development.

Muhammad Ali said JCorp is also positioning Tanjung Langsat as the regional hub for the biofuel industry.

By Business Times