By: Yip Wai Fong
JOHOR BAHRU: JLand Group (JLG), the real estate and infrastructure arm of Johor Corporation (JCorp), has unveiled Ibrahim Technopolis (IBTEC) – a 7,290-acre integrated development positioned as a key driver in the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
The launch at Dataran Mahkota was graced by Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj Ibni Sultan Ibrahim as the official representative of Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Ismail and attended by Johor Menteri Besar and JCorp chairman Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, alongside federal and state leaders, strategic partners and international investors. Also present at the launch event was JCorp president and chief executive and JLG chairman Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim.
Located in Sedenak, the building blocks of IBTEC are anchored by its advanced manufacturing and logistics precincts and R&D and innovation clusters, which are connected to universities, technical institutions and corporate research centres. These are supported by a digital connectivity spine, featuring data-ready infrastructure, smart utilities and systems designed for AI, IoT and autonomous solutions. Crucially, its success relies on an enabling policy environment that can accommodate future sandbox-oriented approaches as regulations evolve.
During the press conference ahead of the launch event, JCorp real estate and infrastructure division director and JLG group managing director Datuk Akmal Ahmad said IBTEC is being developed with the ambition to evolve into one of Asia’s most compelling real-world innovation sandboxes.
“IBTEC is integrated with industrial (components), R&D facilities, commercial centres and a large neighbourhood under a coordinated blueprint, from land use, infrastructures to digital systems and long-term district stewardship,” he said.
Starting with IBTEC’s 1,376-acre Sedenak Tech Park, the first phase (StepEast) currently has six data centre partnerships with a total investment of RM30bil while the second phase (StepWest) has commenced infrastructure developments.
JLG chief commercial officer John Ng Yan Chuan said StepEast is fully taken up while StepWest has been attracting strong interest from hyperscalers in North America and Singapore.
“We are still in the non-disclosure stage with the hyperscalers but they will be committing substantial capex into data centres (in StepWest),” he said, adding that IBTEC is also in talks with logistic players from Singapore to leverage on JS-SEZ.
“It is a known fact that warehousing cost in Singapore is very expensive. We have attracted logistics players to collaborate with us to promote the logistics cluster in IBTEC; we foresee more and more factories relocating or partly relocating their operations to Johor Bahru. As we move along, the industry players will be coming from Singapore, KL and Penang,” said Ng.
JLG managing director Zamri Yusof said IBTEC places emphasis on connectivity infrastructure and urban planning.
“We have got authority approval to build a new interchange to Sedenak and we will also upgrade the existing interchange from the Sedenak toll to a dual-three carriageway. Based on our experience developing townships such as Bandar Datuk Onn, we have discussed with the authority to develop our own urban guideline for IBTEC, to ensure that IBTEC will be a different township,” he said.
To signal Johor and JLG’s ambition on the global stage, IBTEC will feature Livilab at Exclaim Discovery City, a signature mixed-use nucleus designed by acclaimed architecture and design firm Zaha Hadid Architects. Exclaim Discovery City will serve as the symbolic gateway to IBTEC and Johor – placing the district alongside leading hubs worldwide in design, technology and sustainability.
IBTEC is planned to be fully developed by 2047, with a gross development value of RM27bil. Also present at the press conference was JLG chief strategic officer Ahmad Fadzli Zainudin.
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