KUALA LUMPUR: A robust Industrialised Building System (IBS) industry is being set up to support the Forest City development in Johor to ensure the multi-billion ringgit project is completed faster while providing thousands of jobs for locals.
“IBS is all about prefabrication that can speed up construction and the quality is assured. The first phase of the IBS factory will start production (this month) and we expect it will not be enough. We will embark on Phase Two of the IBS plant,” said Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV) executive director Datuk Md Othman Yusof in an interview.
Incorporating technology from Germany, Italy and China, the IBS facility would comprise four factories and they would be the biggest in the world when fully completed, he added.
“Initially, (production) will be just for Forest City. But in the future, if there is demand elsewhere, for example, for affordable houses, we can (set up deals),” said Othman.
He said when the first factory was being built, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar wanted to see no less than
40 per cent of the workforce to be Malaysians.
“But today, more than 75 per cent of the workers are locals.”
Othman said CGPV had also awarded jobs to local contractors and sourced components and raw materials like cement and steel from local suppliers.
“Forest City is a catalyst project. It will provide employment opportunities for up to 220,000 people. This is not a figure we just pluck out of thin air, (but) from a well-known international consultant. We believe it could be more than that,” he said.
Elaborating on Forest City’s spillover effects, Othman said these hundreds of thousands of employees would need accommodation, transportation, training and other necessities.
“In this respect, local developers need to plan facilities for those who will work on the islands. The spillover for the local developer will be to build houses for them,” he added.
Other spillover impact from the massive development would be the potential investments and businesses that would be developed by foreign property buyers, most of whom would be high net-worth individuals, as well as the appreciating property prices in the surrounding area.
“Previously in Gelang Patah, land was sold by the acre. But today, they sell per sq foot and the price is now about RM38 to RM40 psf. If you sell an acre, you would already be a millionaire. With developments like this, property prices will increase several fold.
“However, they (landowners) need to be smart. If possible, even if there are buyers, don’t sell now. Try and find partners (to develop the land) or break up (the land into) lots to make industrial areas,” said Othman. Lokman Mansor