Forest City

[sgtsk]

Master plan can be found here

If it is developed according to plan, it will overshadow its competition with its coveted duty-free status.

Thank you! I appreciate this.

 

[FHBH12]

Phase 1

 

[FHBH12]

This project is a bit too big to ignore. I try to draw parallel with the land reclamation and development of Sentosa Cove, where the reclaimed land had rested for only a couple of years before construction began. Some observations of the masterplan for phase 1:

(a) The sales gallery should be a permanent structure to sell successive phases at Forest City.

(b) There are two mistakes in the planning for the landed enclave: (1) they are not gated & guarded and (2) the water circulation will be poor judging from the restricted entrance of the waterway.

(c) I doubt the coastal commercial street can survive due to the low population density, at least for the next 10 years.

 

[FHBH12]

Layout of 3 bedroom units. The planter boxes are likely to be decked over, like in Singapore's condos.

Source (including the masterplan above): http://forestcityjohor.com/

 

[snowbird]

In China, developers are famous for saying : "build them and surely people will come (and buy)".
Perhaps that is what Forest City's developer is thinking.
In China however, many fully equipped cities that were built with replica of Paris and Manhattan downtown, complete with apartment blocks, shopping malls, parks, highways, etc but years later, still nobody come to buy.
And these development are in China with a population of almost 1.4 billion!
Wonder years later, maybe another similar documentary will be made featuring Forest City.

[video=youtube;rPILhiTJv7E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=rPILhiTJv7E[/video]

[video=youtube;V3XfpYxHKCo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3XfpYxHKCo[/video]

 

[enjoylife77]

This video are 4-5 years ago.

 

[snowbird]

This video are 4-5 years ago.

Nothing much had changed since then.
Now, the report produced last year by Singapore's CNA !

[video=youtube;0uxv5_GoY80]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uxv5_GoY80[/video]

 

[sgtsk]

There are over built cities in China but there are Cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen where property prices still surged over the last 12 months with Shenzhen over 50%. So plans are afoot to let go of some steam from these over saturated cities with the supply of new cities. A condo could take a year or two to get populated more fully. I suppose a new cities will take much longer.


One of the widely reported ghost city for a million people by the western media in 2011. In 2013 it began to show signs of life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc6tO9w8Nmw

 

[Tekkun]

There are over built cities in China but there are Cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen where property prices still surged over the last 12 months with Shenzhen over 50%. So plans are afoot to let go of some steam from these over saturated cities with the supply of new cities. A condo could take a year or two to get populated more fully. I suppose a new cities will take much longer.


One of the widely reported ghost city for a million people by the western media in 2011. In 2013 it began to show signs of life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc6tO9w8Nmw

Ghost Cities that came alive.
Pudong, Dantu, Wujin, Zhengdong, Zhujiang...all sucess stories of pre planned cities. But then there are many others which are still empty.


http://www.vagabondjourney.com/5-chinese-ghost-cities-came-alive/

 

[ECboy]

Ghost Cities that came alive.
Pudong, Dantu, Wujin, Zhengdong, Zhujiang...all sucess stories of pre planned cities. But then there are many others which are still empty.


http://www.vagabondjourney.com/5-chinese-ghost-cities-came-alive/

Not a fan of China developers but I think its not very fair to compare like that, some of this China cities are really really secluded, they would be equivalent to Jerantut or Slim River in Malaysia. Basically my point is some of them are in the middle of nowhere. In Spain also the ghost cities are like super secluded, I passed by one when I attended my friends wedding in Barcelona.

Also, "IF" there's a ghost city in Malaysia, I don't think they can easily pickup like those in China, they have abundance of people and they improve connectivity very quickly.

 

[Investor888]

Haaa I like your comparison. Forest City location is the bestest one can ever find in JB nearest to 2nd link.

For those who have purchased, its indeed a good bargain and I am happy for them

Not a fan of China developers but I think its not very fair to compare like that, some of this China cities are really really secluded, they would be equivalent to Jerantut or Slim River in Malaysia. Basically my point is some of them are in the middle of nowhere. In Spain also the ghost cities are like super secluded, I passed by one when I attended my friends wedding in Barcelona.

Also, "IF" there's a ghost city in Malaysia, I don't think they can easily pickup like those in China, they have abundance of people and they improve connectivity very quickly.

 

[ECboy]

Haaa I like your comparison. Forest City location is the bestest one can ever find in JB nearest to 2nd link.

For those who have purchased, its indeed a good bargain and I am happy for them

Some red flags at Forest City too but location is pretty decent. I'm not vested so just look from far far away.

 

[snowbird]

Ghost Cities that came alive.
Pudong, Dantu, Wujin, Zhengdong, Zhujiang...all sucess stories of pre planned cities. But then there are many others which are still empty.


http://www.vagabondjourney.com/5-chinese-ghost-cities-came-alive/

One must not forget that China had a population of 1.4 billion, with an ever growing middle class.
A tiny weeny percentage of one percent of the population can easily filled up a satellite town easily if the authorities are willing to put in some effort.
They took them only 30 years to create Shenzhen, a sparkling brand new city for 10 million people, complete with skyscrapers, its own extensive metro system, financial centre and a stock market, out of a small fishing village.

If the Forest City buyers are mainly Mainlanders, then there is a very good chance that this place will become a "ghost town" in future, just like those in China........fully sold but no one staying there.

 

[Funniman]

One must not forget that China had a population of 1.4 billion, with an ever growing middle class.
A tiny weeny percentage of one percent of the population can easily filled up a satellite town easily if the authorities are willing to put in some effort.
They took them only 30 years to create Shenzhen, a sparkling brand new city for 10 million people, complete with skyscrapers, its own extensive metro system, financial centre and a stock market, out of a small fishing village.

If the Forest City buyers are mainly Mainlanders, then there is a very good chance that this place will become a "ghost town" in future, just like those in China........fully sold but no one staying there.

Chi pai si liow....ka liow become ghost islands. These China people so yaya papaya...serve them right. Boikot them.

 

[Tekkun]

Chi pai si liow....ka liow become ghost islands. These China people so yaya papaya...serve them right. Boikot them.

Agree. These Chinese people come and play havoc in Iskandar. Spoiled the property market.

As long as Puteri Harbour do not become ghost city, I would be very happy.

 

[sgtsk]

China has too many ghost cities. Not likely. See below
China plans to move some 80 million rural people into urbanised environment by 2020. Does anyone think China has built enough new cities now?

In WSJ

BEIJING—China's long-awaited plan approved this week to move more people to cities in a bid to boost economic growth would mean a population shift of about 100 million over the next few years.

The plan the State Council, or cabinet, approved late Sunday calls for China to have about 60% of its more than 1.3 billion people living in urban areas by 2020, up from 52.6% at the end of 2012.

Premier Li Keqiang spearheaded the plan to let millions of farmers move to cities.



By McKinsey



The scale and pace of China's urbanization continues at an unprecedented rate. If current trends hold, China's urban population will hit the one billion mark by 2030. In 20 years, China's cities will have added 350 million people more than the entire population of the United States today. By 2025, China will have 221 cities with one million–plus inhabitants—compared with 35 cities of this size in Europe today—and 23 cities with more than five million. For companies in China and around the world, the scale of China’s urbanization promises substantial new markets and investment opportunities.

 

[rotikok]

Agree. These Chinese people come and play havoc in Iskandar. Spoiled the property market.

As long as Puteri Harbour do not become ghost city, I would be very happy.

Very hard not to, PH is rich ppl playground. Much like Dockland in melb.

 

[sgtsk]

I read sometime ago that while building new cities and populating them enmass thereafter is common in China, doing so oversea is uncommon. The Guangdong govt(also on behalf of central govt) has given its full support to the forest city project with an objective of using it as a first oversea model of building a fully functional and economically viable cities along the one route one belt projects, using mostly China's latest technological capabilities, in cooperation with some international partners. These cities could be financial centers, duty free cities, MICE, ports, online businesses, wholesale trade centers,...,

 

[snowbird]

I read sometime ago that while building new cities and populating them enmass thereafter is common in China, doing so oversea is uncommon. The Guangdong govt(also on behalf of central govt) has given its full support to the forest city project with an objective of using it as a first oversea model of building a fully functional and economically viable cities along the one route one belt projects, using mostly China's latest technological capabilities, in cooperation with some international partners. These cities could be financial centers, duty free cities, MICE, ports, online businesses, wholesale trade centers,...,

As I've said earlier, a couple of ghost cities is really no big deal in China with a population of 1.4 billion.
The govt, if they really do something positive, those ghost cities will be filled and bustling in no time.
If they can build a bustling city from a fishing village in the far south of the country in such a short time which no developed or developing country can achieve, inhabiting those ghost cities will be child play in comparison.
But a ghost town several thousands miles away in a little southern Malaysian city not under their jurisdiction is something else.

 

[mpan12]

Agree with you. I see the way they plan the whole thing, really questionable. Isn't it clear it's all about "duit" (money) for the Johor authorities and their Sultan? Just sell sell sell the land. Why not? They become RM billions richer. But how it is heading in the long term is another matter.

Firstly, one gotta ask: Do the Chinese buyers even speak the main languages of Malaysia? Ok, there are many Chinese in Johor but Malay and English remain the most commonly used. Unless these China Chinese only want to be stuck in their self-contained Forest City and not move much elsewhere.

Secondly, what are they going to work as? Or do they simply want to retire there? China is not just a 100 or 200km away from Johor. They also got to consider the travel time and distance.

So are they buying to stay, to keep or simply find an outlet to dump their money?

Forest City aside, I look at Country Garden Danga Bay already I feel overwhelmed. 9,000 closely packed units. Probably not even 2/3 sold. Will those China buyers and other foreigners like Singaporeans eventually stay there?

There are still more condos yet to be built in Danga Bay. Expect an overload of condos coming up in Iskandar! If those buyers are not staying there, I don't think it will be as bad as a ghost town. But we'll see the whole place very sparsely populated. What do the authorities care? They've already gotten their money from land sales.

As I've said earlier, a couple of ghost cities is really no big deal in China with a population of 1.4 billion.
The govt, if they really do something positive, those ghost cities will be filled and bustling in no time.
If they can build a bustling city from a fishing village in the far south of the country in such a short time which no developed or developing country can achieve, inhabiting those ghost cities will be child play in comparison.
But a ghost town several thousands miles away in a little southern Malaysian city not under their jurisdiction is something else.