Since the pandemic stabilized in 2022, Country Garden Forest City, located next to the second border crossing between Singapore and Malaysia, is gradually regaining its former vitality. The destination has been attracting not only local travelers but also many tourists coming from afar since it opened to the public in 2016.
The community is an integrated, intelligent and ecological city jointly developed and operated by leading real estate developer Country Garden and an associate company of the Johor State Government. Forbes magazine ranked it as one of the "five new cities that are set to shake up the future".
With the vertical green wall, sky garden and rooftop garden system that weaves throughout the city, Forest City has built a horizontal green area covering 2.86 million square meters and a vertical greening landscape of about 256,000 linear meters.
To date, Forest City has in place real estate development covering some four million square meters and has completed nearly 36 km of roads. Existing property owners hail from more than 40 countries and regions including China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Forest City's Commercial Street and Marina Beach are the sites of multiple themed events every month, including the Car Boot Sale, Pet Park and Halloween Party, creating a great weekend destination for local residents. In the summer of 2022, the water park became the most popular leisure destination for residents and locals.
Ir. Hj. Syarul Izam, Vice President of Forest City, said that with the arrival of an increasing number of international visitors, Forest City will continue to upgrade existing and build additional support facilities and entertainment venues to create an immersive eco-friendly experience of coastal resort life at 1°N, making it a popular short-haul tourist destination with a number of unique characteristics.
To meet the demand from the latest tourism boom, Forest City has further expanded the scope of its commercial offerings, including the opening of the Forest City Transportation Center, which connects many attractions on and off the island and is the terminus for various means of transport that runs through the entire city.