landmark
Haw Par Villa
A 1937 theme park built by the Tiger Balm brothers, best known for the Ten Courts of Hell: lurid dioramas of Buddhist punishments in painted concrete. Entry is free and it remains defiantly strange.
22 km · about 25 min drive
AsiaMalaysiaJohor
Forest City
Johor, Malaysia · Asia
About Forest City
Forest City works well as a base: 15 minutes from Iskandar Puteri, 22km from Haw Par Villa.
Forest City is in Johor, Malaysia, with about 4,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Iskandar Puteri, about 7 km away.
Forest City is an integrated property development and special financial zone (SFZ) in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia. It is located on reclaimed land in the southwestern part of Johor Bahru District, the second largest district in Malaysia by population. It was first announced in 2006 as a twenty-year investmentRead more
project mostly financed by Chinese developer Country Garden, pitched under the Belt and Road Initiative. It was officiated by then Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak in 2016, with the approval of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail. Forest City is a joint venture between Esplanade Danga 88, an affiliate of state government subsidiary Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ), and Country Garden Holding Ltd (CGPV), with CGPV holding 60 percent of shares, while KPRJ holds the other 40 percent. Forest City is under the management of the Iskandar Puteri City Council and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority.
The development of Forest City is contentious. The project was not targeted at local Malaysians but rather at upper-middle-class citizens from China who wanted to park their wealth abroad, by offering relatively affordable seafront properties compared to expensive coastal cities within their country such as Shanghai. However, initial strong sales from China collapsed after CCP general secretary Xi Jinping implemented stronger currency controls. Such lackluster sales were exacerbated by the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, with the project being described as a "ghost town" in 2022. The project has also been criticised for causing large amounts of habitat destruction in the vicinity. Since 2024, Forest City has been designated by the government as Malaysia's first tax-free special financial zone, primarily to attract global business services, banking institutions and financial technology companies and revive the area.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Forest City?
Within an hour or so of Forest City: Haw Par Villa (22 km), Singapore Zoo (24 km), Singapore Botanic Gardens (25 km), S.E.A. Aquarium Singapore (27 km).
Where is Forest City?
Forest City is in Johor, Malaysia, about 7 km from Iskandar Puteri.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 4,000
- Continent
- Asia
- Country
- Malaysia
- Region
- Johor
- Timezone
- Asia/Kuala_Lumpur
- Coordinates
- 1.3388, 103.5888
Tags
Worth the detour from Forest City
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Singapore Zoo
Award-winning tropical zoo using open-concept enclosures set within a lush rainforest environment.
24 km · about 30 min drive
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Singapore Botanic Gardens
A UNESCO World Heritage tropical garden featuring the National Orchid Garden with over 1,000 species and hybrids of orchids.
25 km · about 30 min drive
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S.E.A. Aquarium Singapore
One of the world's largest aquariums on Sentosa Island with over 100,000 marine animals across 50 habitats.
27 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Universal Studios Singapore
Southeast Asia's first Hollywood movie theme park located on Sentosa Island with unique zone-based attractions.
28 km · about 30 min drive
restaurant
Tiong Bahru Market
A two-storey hawker centre in Singapore's oldest housing estate, where stalls such as Jian Bo Shui Kueh and Hong Heng prawn noodles have traded for decades. Wet market below, food centre above.
28 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Sentosa Island
A resort island just off Singapore's southern coast with beaches, Universal Studios, an aquarium, and a host of family attractions.
29 km · about 35 min drive
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Singapore Chinatown
A vibrant district blending traditional Chinese temples, heritage shophouses, bustling hawker centers, and modern bars along Pagoda Street.
29 km · about 35 min drive
When to drive here
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
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