Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Idris ibni Sultan Ibrahim has come forth to shut down claims surrounding the “failure” of the Forest City mega project in Iskandar Puteri, which was first brought to light last week.
For those unaware, it was reported that Forest City was listed in “Most Useless Mega Projects in the World” by YouTube channel “Top Luxury”. The channel, which has more than 200,000 subscribers, came up with a list of 5 most useless and non-profitable mega projects around the globe.
Taking to his official Facebook page, TMJ responded, “I would like to refute allegations (that has gone) viral on social media, stating that the Forest City Project is a failed project. This is not true and is mere slander spread by certain parties. Forest City is a project that is being developed sustainably and continuously.”
The Johor royalty further clarified by saying, “This project has already contributed RM630 million to the Johor State Government in the form of taxes, dividends and such. This project has also created job opportunities for 1,200 local residents and awarded contracts worth RM1.4billion to 150 domestic contractors. This has opened doors to develop the construction industry in Johor on the long term.”
In his post Tunku Ismail also revealed that Forest City received the Global Model of Low-Carbon City Planning and Design Award from the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Award (SCAHSA) at the end of last month. “This indicates that the project has not failed, instead it has attracted attention on the international stage with its technical advancement,” His Royal Highness stated.
Apart from Forest City, the list also named the Interstate H-3 project in Hawaii, the Ciudad Real Central Airport project in Spain, the Naypyidaw project in Myanmar, and also the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in Nevada as the most useless mega projects in the world.