Speedster: A mock up of the Fuxing, China’s latest high-speed passenger rolling stock capable of hitting 350kph. This capability allows cities to be ‘closer’ to each other to synergise growth in a process known as agglomeration. — MENG YEW CHOONG/The Star
THE upcoming 11th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat next month will likely see significant announcements emerge on the progress of the proposed Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ)
First announced in October 2023 during Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Singapore for the 10th leaders’ retreat, the JS-SEZ was envisioned as an integrated business and commerce zone, with the zone expected to cover 3,505sq km across southern Johor to include the Iskandar Malaysia region located after the Second Link, and the Pengerang district near Singapore’s Pulau Tekong.
The idea of crossborder collaboration is nothing new, given their numerous benefits. This can be seen at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, which is a key Chinese national strategy to spur growth by leveraging on the complementary advantages of the three places.
Commonly known as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), this Chinese megalopolis covers nine cities and two special administrative regions, and is envisioned by planners as an integrated economic area of not just regional but global standing.
With a total area of 56,000sq km, it is the largest and most populated urban area in the world.
GBA comprises the Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong Province (Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai).
A McKinsey Global Institute report in 2018 listed Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen among the world’s 50 “superstar cities”, while the Hong Kong SAR government (bayarea.gov.hk) puts the combined population of GBA in 2023 at nearly 87 million, contributing to a GDP of about US$2 trillion (RM8.68 trillion).
By strengthening cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong ,and Macau, development of GBA is a key national strategy to synergise economic development, making it a globally appealing place for work and play, while further enhancing the area’s supporting role in China’s economic development.
The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, as announced by the central government in February 2019, places Hong Kong as one of the core cities for developing the GBA, with hopes placed on “the radiating effect in leading the development of nearby regions”.
Greater Bay Area example
A lot of investment has poured in to strengthen road and rail connection in the area, including the provision of high-speed rail from the GBA to the rest of China.
The entire GBA area is well served by transport links as China makes an effort to maximise the “composite advantages of the three places (Guangzhou and the two SARs), facilitate in-depth integration within the region, and promote coordinated regional economic development, with a view to developing an international first-class bay area ideal for living, working and travelling”.
Some of the major land transportation infrastructure put in include road bridges such as the Huangpu Bridge, Nansha Bridge, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (the longest sea crossing and longest open-sea fixed link in the world).
The network of urban rail transit is also expanding quickly, with rail network maps becoming increasingly complicated by the year as links are added.
Hong Kong’s MTR was the first, and its model has subsequently been applied to other networks in the region. The total length of metro lines in the GBA is now closing in on the 1,000km mark.
When it comes to regional and commuter railway, there are the Guangzhou-Kowloon through train, Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing intercity railway, Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway, Dongguan-Huizhou intercity railway, and the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Jiangmen intercity railway.
Recently, the portion of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway (HSR) that extends into Hong Kong offered overnight sleeper trains to Beijing, thus offering a credible alternative to air travel.
Introduced on June 15, the sleeper train service between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Beijing Xi Station/Shanghai Hongqiao Station, will see trains departing in the evening and arriving the next morning.
This new arrangement was refined in October by introducing high-speed rolling stock called Fuxing – a major enhancement of the original conventional-speed train service between the Hong Kong Hung Hom Station and Beijing Xi/Shanghai –and has nearly halved travel time. The Fuxing, capable of hitting 350kph, completes the overnight journey of 2,439km in around eight hours.
Guangdong is the province in China with the highest mileage of HSR tracks, at over 3,000km, contributed by lines such as the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang HSR, Guangzhou-Shenzhen HSR, and the Guangzhou-Shanwei-Shantou HSR, among others.
The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link significantly shortens travel time between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and Guangzhou and other cities in the region. The distance from Hong Kong to Guangzhou is nearly 200km.
Combined with speedy customs and immigration clearance, the integrated network of modern rail is crucial for planners to achieve the “One-hour living circle”, a feature intended to drive integration of cities and towns within the GBA.
Seamless cross-border mobility critical
The JS-SEZ project is likely to cover Iskandar Malaysia and Singapore’s Pengerang district, which is an area nearly five times the size of Singapore. The area is expected to attract investments, spur trade, and create many employment opportunities, especially skilled jobs.
Other than the Causeway at Johor Baru and the Second Link at Gelang Patah, Johor, the third link that will soon connect the two countries will be the upcoming JB-Woodlands rapid transit system, which is expected to enter into service by Jan 1, 2027.
Beyond this, another viable link would be the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR, which in its original iteration was meant to link Singapore’s Jurong East with seven growth centres in Malaysia, starting with Iskandar Puteri, Batu Pahat, Muar, Ayer Keroh, Seremban (Labu), Putrajaya, and Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
In a joint statement following a special Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia meeting on Nov 7 that was co-chaired by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and Singapore’s National Development Minister Desmond Lee, the countries affirmed the role of JS-SEZ in bringing mutual benefit, including easing the movements of goods and people, enhancing the ease of doing business, and supporting talent development.
When supported by the HSR all the way to Kuala Lumpur, the JS-SEZ has everything it needs to create a Singapore-Johor-Melaka-Negri Sembilan-Klang Valley conurbation, a “critical mass” for growth and development for the long term.
“It is not inconceivable that the JS-SEZ, together with the HSR line, will catalyse the development along the 350km alignment from southern Johor all the way to Kuala Lumpur,” said Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal, CEO of MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian government’s project delivery vehicle for the proposed cross-border HSR.
“This is no mere wishful thinking as the distance is well within the ‘sweet spot’ of HSR’s competitive advantages compared with other modes,” he said, adding that experience from other countries has shown that in distances up to 1,200km, HSR still retains its advantages over flying or driving.
Seven local and international consortia, comprising 31 firms that represent the full spectrum of the KL-Singapore HSR project, submitted concept proposals to MyHSR Corp when the deadline for submission ended on Jan 15.
Commenting on the potential of JS-SEZ, Samuel Tan, CEO of Johor-based Olive Tree Property Sdn Bhd, said with all the pro-business initiatives and the practical stance adopted by Malaysia and Singapore, it is only logical that Johor’s future will have all the right elements to leapfrog to the next level in a sustainable manner.
“Hopefully, Johor will become a pioneer spearheading various models to boost the economy, and the positive impact can spill over to other states,” said the long-time observer of the dynamics of development in the state.
According to transport consultant Goh Bok Yen, there is the risk that the rest of Peninsular Malaysia will be left out of enjoying the fruits of JS-SEZ’s success if there is no HSR to the Klang Valley.
“Looking at examples from China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, among others, we can see that there are various growth nodes that are sustained or catalysed by HSR.
“A successful JS-SEZ will no doubt improve the competitiveness of Singapore in attracting multinationals and other high value-adding activities.
However, in the absence of HSR to KL, these players will be more likely to choose the south over Klang Valley.
“In this, KL will lose out. You also need to be in the Klang Valley to be easily connected to the East Coast Rail Link, another game-changing project for the country,” he said.
As for Tan, he feels Malaysia must not be left out from being connected to the rest of the world through modern rail.
“In the larger scheme of things, HSR should be seen from the perspective of the wider Pan-Asian rail network, starting in Singapore, traversing through Malaysia to Indochina, then China, before heading to Europe.
“Seen from this perspective, Malaysia cannot afford to be out of the picture.
“It is no longer a national agenda, but a global one, with interconnected political and economic considerations spread over dozens of decades to come,” he said.
