Businesses bet on bigger, refreshed malls in Johor to capture RTS Link footfall
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link can transport up to 10,000 travellers per hour in each direction
[SINGAPORE] An upcoming rail line connecting Woodlands to Johor Bahru is expected to spur a surge of visitors to the Malaysian destination.
The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link can transport up to 10,000 travellers per hour in each direction.
Meanwhile, the Shuttle Tebrau train service, currently operating between Woodlands and Johor, carries fewer than 10,000 commuters a day. The service will cease after the 4 km RTS Link becomes operational in January 2027.
The RTS Link, which is a feature of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), is driving investment in malls across the Causeway, Christine Li, Asia-Pacific head of research at Knight Frank, told The Straits Times (ST).
She said: “The surge in cross-border footfall is expected to materially lift retail, hospitality and wellness demand.
“Competition is increasing across the board with the arrival of new developments. Many of the new malls are positioned at the higher end, and mainly target day trippers from Singapore and short-term visitors.”
Mall investments
Singapore-headquartered asset manager CapitaLand Investment (CLI) and Malaysian developer Coronade Properties were the latest businesses to announce a mall project in Johor on Nov 24.
Coronation Square Mall will be connected to the Bukit Chagar RTS Link station. Construction of the mall will begin in 2026 and is slated to be completed in 2029.
With a gross floor area of 1.2 million sq ft, the mall has been touted as the Johor city centre’s “largest retail landmark” by CLI and Coronade.
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It will sit within a larger integrated development by Coronade that includes commercial office space, a residential development and a hotel managed by CLI subsidiary Ascott.
Coronade’s sales manager Ong Tee Hui told ST that the company has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, “with near to 5,000 carpark spaces, a scale unmatched by other projects”.
“This alone puts Coronation Square head and shoulders above neighbouring developments,” she added.
Earlier in November, Singapore-based developer Allgreen Properties said it will revamp JB City Square mall. Allgreen is a member of the Kuok Group founded by Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok.
JB City Square, which was built in the mid-1990s, is connected to the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex by an overhead bridge.
Under the plan, the mall will be expanded to include hotel apartments and a health and wellness hub when it is completed in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Mixed-use projects allow developers to diversify their risks, without the need to commit solely to residential or commercial projects, said Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore.
He said that early entrants to the JS-SEZ will be better positioned to secure skilled labour, anchor tenants and strategic locations.
He added: “We expect vigorous yet healthy competition among developer firms. Developers prioritising innovation and integrated amenities will distinguish themselves.”
Securing manpower, however, could be a challenge for retail businesses as Johor has a relatively small population of just over four million people, Li said.
“Staffing for premium retail could be difficult in a tight labour market, particularly as employers also compete for workers with the healthcare, technology, data centre, manufacturing and logistics sectors,” she added.
A business and investment zone, the JS-SEZ was established in January 2025. Spanning the Iskandar Development Region and Pengerang, it is projected to generate 20,000 skilled jobs for residents on both sides of the Causeway.
Bright outlook
Johor drew RM56 billion (S$17.7 billion) in investments in the first half of 2025, primarily driven by initiatives like the JS-SEZ. This was more than four times what the state received over the same period in 2024.
The update by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority in August did not provide details on which sectors drew the largest investments.
Singaporeans made up the majority of foreign visitors to Johor in the first seven months of the year, according to Johor’s unity, heritage and culture committee chairman K Raven Kumar.
He told Malaysian media that the Republic accounted for 11 million visits over the period, including repeat visits.
The RTS Link and JS-SEZ have reinforced Maybank Investment Bank’s positive outlook on Malaysian retail and industrial-focused real estate investment trusts (Reits).
The bank factored in the expectation of strong spending by Singaporeans capitalising on a favourable exchange rate.
In a report in October, it noted the strong performance of Johor shopping centres, such as Paradigm Mall Johor Bahru and Komtar JBCC.
It said that Paradigm Mall, an asset of Paradigm Reit, enjoys near-full occupancy of around 99 per cent, with up to 60 per cent of its weekend shoppers coming from Singapore.
Al-Salam Reit’s Komtar JBCC, meanwhile, has seen its occupancy rise from 46 per cent in early 2022 to 69 per cent currently.
As with any emerging district, the JS-SEZ still faces the immediate challenge of attracting the crowds needed for businesses to thrive, ERA’s Lim said.
He noted: “Given the scale of the SEZ, we anticipate a gradual transformation rather than rapid development. Districts of this size take time to mature.
“Nonetheless, the SEZ is poised to become a positive catalyst for both Malaysia and Singapore, strengthening economic links and creating new opportunities on both sides of the border.” THE STRAITS TIMES
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