‘Urban Redevelopment Act paves the way for JS-SEZ upgrades’

Domino effect: The introduction of Ura is expected to benefit the JS-SEZ by redeveloping old and abandoned buildings.

JOHOR BARU: The introduction of the Urban Redevelopment Act (Ura) is expected to benefit the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) by upgrading the cities in the state, says Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman.

The Johor Baru mayor said local councils could use the law to rejuvenate their areas, especially by redeveloping old and abandoned buildings.

“Singapore introduced its Ura long ago, allowing them to rearrange city development and launch projects like the Marina Barrage.

“At the state level, we conducted research through the Special Area Plan development project on what we need to restructure the city, including relocating squatter areas.

“We hope that once our Parliament approves the Ura, we can address abandoned and unviable developments and transform them into something beneficial,” he said when contacted.

Mohd Noorazam added that the introduction of JS-SEZ has attracted investors to the city, and having the Ura will help create new growth areas for Johor.

“For example, Johor Baru is an old city with limited land resources for development; we currently have about 18% or roughly 1,416 ha of industrial land left to be developed.

“The key task now is to market the potential correctly and ensure that the industries we bring in match the surrounding environment.

If we bring in manufacturing industries, we need to ensure the infrastructure is ready; manufacturing is ideal because it generates domestic employment and downstream industries,” he explained.

The plan to redevelop Johor Baru also aligns with the recent World Cities Summit 2024 held in Singapore on June 2, which focused on the theme “Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Rejuvenate, Reinvent, Reimagine”, he said.Given that our population will continue to increase, Ura is needed to properly plan future development, Mohd Noorazam noted.

“We should also have private and government sectors collaborating on future developments to make the JS-SEZ more attractive,” he added.

On March 8, Bernama reported Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming as saying that the Ura is now in the final stages of drafting and will be tabled in Parliament soon.

Nga has said that once the Act is approved by Parliament, it will create abundant investment opportunities, change the city skyline and generate hundreds of billions in gross development value (GDV).