Forest City Malaysia to welcome more residents and tourists

Forest City Malaysia aims to build a comprehensive community with various services, such as tourism, education, and medical care, to attract more residents, after more than 20,000 residential units are expected to be handed over to owners this year.

Located within the Iskandar Malaysia special economic zone (SEC) in southern Johor, Forest City plans to comprise four man-made islands spanning around 30 square kilometers.

Forest City’s main focus for 2019 and 2020 is to build up the industrial component as part of its blueprint, which will include developing tourism, education, and medical care, Hugo Wu, executive general manager of Forest City, told the Global Times.

Wu noted that the project intends to attract industries, include high-tech companies, to set up in the industrial hub, and further enhance Forest City’s function as a comprehensive community.

In addition, Forest City’s landmark Carnelian Tower, a 45-story integrated building comprising of residential units, offices and shops, is slated to open in 2020.

People from the Forest City are confident that more shops and tourists will pour in with the opening of Carnelian Tower, which is expected to help make a thriving economy.

Workers’ paradise

Forest City has always been diligently fulfilling its social duty of boosting employment. It vowed to provide 220,000 job opportunities for the residents during its 20-year planned development program.

“Whenever I tell my family and friends that I work in Forest City, they believe that I am very rich and lucky,” said Tingting, a resident who works in Forest City, noting those salary and work benefits surpass that of many companies and institutes in Malaysia.

Tingting works as a butler for residents in Forest City. Her daily chores include attending residents’ houses when they are away, and translating for them when they are in need.

“[The residents] are not concerned about me being in their houses at all… In fact, they often asked me to share food with them and brought me gifts after their trips from other places,” she said.

For Sameer, a Yemenese employee, Forest City helped to shape his life pattern and makes him a “better person.”

Under the stimulation from company’s work-out package for its employees, Sameer used to hate exercised, but has since become a “fitness fanatic.”

“The company orchestrated a series of training scheme for its employees; for example, they taught me manners at table, knowledge of wine and so forth. Now that I knew those things, I can also have better communication with customers.”

He said eight years of life experience in China didn’t t taught him much Chinese, but working in Forest City for only three years, he became fluent in this language.

Protecting the environment

Homeowners of Forest City hail from over 35 countries and regions, including China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, the US, Australia, and Hong Kong, says Wu.

Several told the Global Times that after searching many places, they finally chose to settle down in Forest City.

An Indonesian resident surnamed Fu said that he was attracted by the community’s proximity to Singapore, green environment and pleasant climate.

The Forest City has always been devoted to building an environment-friendly and green community for residents and tourists.

The project minimizes the impact on the surrounding environment during construction, and established an online monitoring system to monitor the water quality; actively cooperate with research universities to establish sea grass protection areas and enrich the area’s ecological structure.

In addition to diversified and pragmatic environmental protection initiatives, Forest City has applied the concept of green sustainable development in construction. Through the production of building prefabricated parts, the use of industrial technology to build houses and other methods, and the implementation of green buildings, the city minimizes the impact of construction on the environment.

“Living here is like enjoying beach vacation every day, when you wake up in the morning you see the sea linking with blue sky, birds chirping and sunshine shining through the forest,” said some 60-year-old Sister Mei, a woman who purchased three houses here.

She said after purchasing two, she decided to buy another one for her granddaughter.

Reference: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1170532.shtml