Published in NST on June 29 2010
ISKANDAR Investment Bhd (IIB) said investments in Iskandar Malaysia could hit RM70 billion by year-end as more investors eye Johor for expansion.
The region has attracted some RM60 billion of investments so far, said IIB president and chief executive officer Arlida Ariff.
Iskandar was expected to receive RM54 billion investments by end-2010. Under its Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) 2006-2025, Iskandar was forecast to receive RM110 billion of investments.
Arlida said there have been more investments lately because of the infrastructure that have been put into place.
"We are talking to several players and will announce new deals by the end of this year," she said.
Arlida was speaking to Business Times yesterday after the signing ceremony between Education@Iskandar Sdn Bhd, an IIB unit, and the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) to set up an MDIS campus in EduCity, the 120ha education enclave in Nusajaya in Iskandar.
The event was witnessed by Minister of Higher Education Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The MDIS campus, the third in EduCity, will cost RM163 million to build. It will open in 2013 and would attract 10,000 students.
The other two institutions at EduCity are UK's Newcastle University of Medicine and Netherland's Maritime Institute of Technology.
IIB is also in talks with two other universities to set up engineering and multi-programme schools in EduCity. One is with Singapore's Raffles Education Group.
Meanwhile, Khaled said the government plans to set up a centre of higher learning in Pagoh in north Johor, on land owned by Sime Darby Bhd.
"We are studying the plan. This centre will comprise local university branches. It will not rival Iskandar, which is more focused on attracting foreign universities," he said.
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