KUALA LUMPUR: The Johor‑Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS‑SEZ) is on track to surpass its initial employment target of 20,000 skilled jobs in less than five years, says Datuk Seri Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
The Economy Minister said early momentum has been encouraging and could push the target to be met within three years.
“The JS-SEZ aims to facilitate 50 projects and create 20,000 skilled job opportunities in its first five years and a target of 100 projects within 10 years.
“However, the focus remains on strong investor interest and improving the project pipeline to ensure that these translate into quality jobs and high-value projects. In simple terms, JS-SEZ is about turning proximity into productivity.
“It brings together Malaysia’s industrial scale, land availability and competitive cost structure with Singapore’s financial depth, global connectivity and advanced services ecosystem,” he said in his keynote address at the JS‑SEZ executive forum yesterday.
Akmal Nasrullah said the operational blueprint has been completed and approved by the Cabinet, with implementation already underway by relevant agencies and committees set up to attract and realise investments.
However, he said the Cabinet decided that it should be launched by both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong due to its bilateral significance.
Although no date has been announced for the joint launch, Akmal Nasrullah said the government’s priority this year was execution.
“At least 57% of the RM76.98bil in approved investments recorded under the JS‑SEZ last year had already materialised on the ground.
“The masterplan and investment blueprint, originally scheduled for a March 30 unveiling, was postponed to finalise alignment across federal agencies and operational and fiscal frameworks,” he added.
Separately, Akmal Nasrullah revealed growing interest from Italy and other European countries, partly driven by geopolitical shifts arising from the Middle East conflict.
He said Malaysian officials have received requests from Italian investors and chambers to explore opportunities in the JS‑SEZ, prompting plans for follow‑up engagement to convert interest into tangible investment commitments.
Italian Ambassador Raffaele Langella said Italian firms are eyeing a wide range of sectors in Johor, attracted by its role in regional value chains.
He cited Italy’s existing presence in Johor’s industrial landscape, including STMicroelectronics and the Eni‑PETRONAS venture.
“We are keen on high‑quality investments that integrate with broader ecosystems rather than one‑off projects.
“The special economic zone in Vietnam has been crucial for the consolidation of the Italian presence there, so we are willing to build upon that experience and maybe start new initiatives here in Malaysia,” he said.
Langella also highlighted Italy’s strength in small and medium enterprise know‑how and training, saying that human resource exchange is another area of mutual interest.
He said logistics, oil and gas, and high‑technology training are among the sectors that have drawn Italian attention.
