JOHOR BARU: The World Bank Group (WBG), through the International Finance Corp (IFC), has signed an agreement with two other parties to jointly develop one of the world’s largest renewable energy (RE) corridors in Johor for US$6bil or about RM25bil.
The Southern Johor Renewable Energy Corridor (SJREC) will be developed by WBG’s private-sector arm IFC, Permodalan Darul Ta’zim (PDT) and Ditrolic Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd.
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, PDT is Johor’s state investment arm and Ditrolic Energy is an integrated energy company.
SJREC, a hybrid solar and battery energy storage system zone covering 2,000sq km, is expected to generate clean electricity to meet the energy needs of local and multinational corporations in Johor.
“This includes hyperscale data centre operators, manufacturers, and other businesses in Johor, which is emerging as a key industrial and digital hub in South-East Asia,” the companies said in a statement.
The project also enables clean energy to be transmitted to Singapore, supporting the broader Asean Power Grid initiative, a collective Asean effort to interconnect the region’s electricity networks and strengthen energy cooperation by 2045.
Developed as a key component of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone masterplan, the project’s initial phase is expected to include up to four gigawatt (GW) peak of solar capacity and 5.12GW hours of energy storage capacity on a 4,047ha site.
The agreement was witnessed by Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia on Monday, underscoring royal and governmental support for Johor’s clean-energy transformation and cross-border cooperation with Singapore.
PDT president and group chief executive Datuk Ramlee A. Rahman said the project is expected to generate significant economic benefits by creating an estimated 125,000 jobs through the construction, operation and maintenance of RE infrastructure.
“This will enable industrial expansion and attract high-quality foreign direct investment,” Ramlee said in the statement. — Bernama
