The 100-billion-dollar Forest City development in southern Malaysia, envisioned as a futuristic metropolis across four reclaimed islands, has largely stalled and remains sparsely populated. Initiated by Chinese property developer Country Garden, the project faced severe setbacks following regulatory changes, including Chinese capital controls limiting overseas investments and shifting Malaysian foreign-ownership policies. Combined with the broader debt crisis within China’s real estate sector, construction has significantly slowed, leaving the majority of the planned residential and commercial infrastructure unfinished and operating far below its original capacity.
- Forest City was launched as a $100 billion mega-development spanning four artificial islands in Johor, Malaysia, aimed primarily at Chinese buyers.
- China’s implementation of strict capital controls restricted citizens from moving money abroad, sharply curtailing demand for international real estate purchases.
- Changes in Malaysian political leadership resulted in revised residency and visa rules, creating uncertainty for prospective foreign investors.
- Country Garden’s mounting financial difficulties and broader liquidity challenges in China’s property market impeded ongoing construction and development plans.
- Only a small fraction of the projected master plan has been built, leaving the development largely vacant with low occupancy rates.
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Neom is what happens when people in marketing design an engineering project.
only 9 countries in the world reported a population growth this year, and this idiot is building a city for 9 million people.
It was a stupid idea. Kind of takes about 25 IQ points to see that
Maybe they can make the long trench a tourist attraction. The Great Trench of Arabia.
I see you never want to go to Saudi Arabia in your life
You took one look at its inception, and said, well someone has more money than sense. Utterly delusional project.
Because it made no sense from the start. Why these megalomaniacal fever dreams instead of starting with the basics? Refuse collection, Sewerage, Water, Roads, Lighting. Smh. All that money could have been put to such good use, wasted.
AHHH, new money.
i remembered the roadshows conducted in southeast Asia- Singapore and Hong Kong predominantly. they were seeking for investors to buy into the neom project, very much like time-share hotels. the upfront amount they were asking for…
A dream project for all the grifters
How many lines had to go up how many noses to bring The Line from an idea to its current state?
Why would they need to partner with nasa to make a fake moon?
these guys are not idiots, there's a reason why they did this.
😮🤔
The plan is just too advanced for its time.
This was a clownish idea in every way. Laughably silly.
Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM project and other mega structures could have thrived if Israel and Iran were not at war with each other. The ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East has made investing in the Gulf incredibly complicated. Earlier, the USA had Israel under control and could rely on NATO countries for support to maintain regional stability. But now, with Israel no longer adhering to US instructions and NATO countries stepping back from backing America, the entire security outlook in the region has changed drastically.
Saw this from day 0. A lotta people went to the bank laughing from this. Apparently MBS never heard of "phasing"
Although, if this was a pretext to build the world's longest runway, it's genius.
From the start, it has always been just a way for the Western consultancies milking money from PIF and pushing sand in the desert for a decade. So many of these projects are just economically and socially unsustainable.