Jobs, affordable housing and traffic planning top Johoreans’ expectations as JS-SEZ attracts billion-ringgit investments

In just six months, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) drew billion-ringgit investments.

In The Independent Singapore’s earlier report, investments in the economic zone were already RM56 billion (S$17.6 billion) for the first six months of 2025. In November, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he expects it to grow to RM100 billion (S$31.5 billion) by the end of 2025.

Just last week, Johor became Malaysia’s fastest-rising investment hub with a record RM110 billion (S$35.5 billion) in approved investments last year amid manufacturing and digital infrastructure projects linked to the JS-SEZ, The Business Times reported.

With the much-anticipated JS-SEZ Master Plan announcement on March 30, optimism around the project remains largely positive.

However, Central Force International’s latest public sentiment report suggests that support among Johoreans would ultimately depend on whether the JS-SEZ would bring real benefits to locals — particularly in terms of job opportunities (81.4%), affordable housing (70.1%), and better traffic planning (47.3%).

Besides those, 32.5% expect project initiatives to include environmental management, while 30.5% want improved public amenities.

What’s interesting is that, the report also found that 64% of Johoreans are still unclear what the JS-SEZ would bring, however, others commonly associated it with technology and innovation centres (23.8%), industrial parks (18.6%), tourism-related development (18.0%), housing and property (17.7%), and business or commercial hubs (12.5%).

Alongside these expectations, however, are Johoreans’ concerns about whether the JS-SEZ would lead to higher cost of living (21.6%), increased property prices (13.8%), traffic congestion (11.5%), and governance and policy continuity (9.8%), while 37.8% responded with “don’t know” when asked about their concerns.

“In large-scale economic zones, early-stage ambiguity often reflects informational gaps rather than opposition, making communication, sequencing and visible outcomes critical to consolidating long-term support,” the report said.

Central Force CEO See Toh Wai Yu said, “Investment figures alone do not automatically translate into public confidence. The public interprets the JS-SEZ through tangible factors they can see, work in, or experience directly.” 

“Clear commitments on local hiring, housing affordability and infrastructure sequencing will determine whether uncertainty consolidates into support,” he added. /TISG

Read also: JS-SEZ a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity’ for cross-border investors, says CGSI analyst