Kuala Lumpur: A city where luxury drips from every corner. When the windows and doors of the house are opened, greenery and modern facilities are visible all around. Four islands around the city… cars running underground and a park for pedestrians above, duty free shopping… all this is not just an imagination but such a ‘paradise’ exists on earth, which was built with great ambitions but now it has become a ‘ghost city’. The glare here still makes way for humans even after decades and only the sounds of eagles and crows come from the tall buildings.
China’s terrible ‘capital tragedy’
This city was built for 10 lakh people, the cost of which was about 100 billion dollars i.e. 8.3 lakh crore rupees. This city, which is called ‘Heaven on Earth’, is deserted today. This is Forest City in Johor, Malaysia, adjacent to the border of Singapore. Which has become infamous as the most expensive and modern ‘ghost city’ of the modern world, which has become just a ‘capital tragedy’.
China built city on 4 islands
This project was started by building 4 artificial islands in Johor, Malaysia. This 100 billion dollar project has been built on this island, which is located just 2 kilometers away from Singapore’s 2nd Second Link.
Duty-free shopping, the lure of heaven… nothing worked
It was projected as an eco-friendly, smart city, where cars would run underground and the green parks above would be for pedestrians. The city was a luxury paradise, including golf courses, water parks, luxurious apartments and duty-free shopping facilities.
The city was built, but the people living in it have not come even today. Where 7 lakh people were planned to live, not even 7 thousand people live there. The settlement here is said to be only 1 percent.
The Country Garden company that built this project itself got into huge debt, which was approximately $200 billion. After this the company slowed down investment and construction in ‘Forest City’. The Chinese government also advised citizens not to make huge investments outside the country, after which ‘Modern Heaven’ felt such a curse that it stopped getting buyers.
China’s biggest mistake
This city was built for Chinese upper-middle class buyers. Who wanted to buy a ‘second home’ here at a cheaper rate compared to the expensive coastal cities of China. Its prices were beyond the reach of most Malaysians. It is said that the location of this city also became a curse for it. It feels very far and isolated from a big city like Johor Baru. The residents here became fed up with the lack of community and left the city.
It is said that this deserted city is completely maintained. Lush green parks and clean roads are still waiting for humans.
Forest City has got the name of a ‘ghost city’ not only because of its emptiness, but the facts surrounding it are also shocking. The city is one of the fifth duty-free islands of Malaysia. Here goods like liquor, chocolates and cosmetics are available duty free. Despite having so much luxury, people do not stay here.
Nature cursed?
This city has been built by filling land in the sea. Environmentalists had warned that it would destroy nearby seagrass meadows and mangrove forests, which are of international importance. According to reports, boards warning about the sight of crocodiles have been installed on deserted beaches, which makes the deserted atmosphere of this ‘paradise’ more scary. It is said that this project has been cursed by nature.
The Malaysian government has recently declared Forest City as a Special Financial Zone (SFZ). Its objective is to attract global business, banking and fintech companies. This is an attempt to breathe life back into this project. Now, even though China is putting all its efforts on this project, the world has been insulted because of it, it is considered as China’s ‘capital tragedy’.
