The £80 billion ‘Forest City’ development in Johor launched in 2016, and was a great idea in principle: luxury modern living in an eco-friendly environment with tonnes of green space.

The aim was for one million people to live there, but instead it accommodates…. erm, not very many folks at all.

In recent months, the Malaysian government has had a go at reviving the shipwrecked megaproject by turning it into a special financial zone last August.

They hope a package of measures like special tax rates and streamlined visa processes will tempt people into the development, but when YouTuber Ben Morris went to have a poke around in footage he shared last May, it seemed pretty empty.

What went wrong with Johor’s Forest City?

Many people have dubbed the settlement a ‘ghost town’, with only 9,000 residents actually moving there – less than one percent of what they were expecting.

On top of this, only about 10 percent of it has been completed, according to Architectural Digest.

Restrictions during the Covid pandemic certainly didn’t help matters, plus there were new laws on Chinese capital introduced in 2017, which limited investments from wealthy buyers.

A view from one of the apartments (YouTube/Ben Morris)

Morris said: “First, a major property crisis in China occurred which not only affected developments in the country, but ones overseas as well.

“This had major repercussions for projects such as Forest City, where developers had run into major cash issues and couldn’t finish what they had started.

“And lastly, this city was built to cater to a high ticket Chinese market, where the buyers would own a secondary property abroad.

“However, mid build, the former prime minister of Malaysia imposed restrictions on visas for Chinese buyers in order to avoid it becoming a city built for foreigners.

“With Malaysians already being priced out of buying, this created a huge imbalance of supply against demand for the properties.”

What are the apartments in Forest City actually like?

It’s a shame barely anyone lives in Forest City, as Morris was surprised by how nice the apartments actually were.

Showing off one of the flats, he said: “This is your own private floor and entrance, you can even see the bridge from your balcony.”

It also had tennis courts, swimming pools, gyms, and pretty much everything you need.

Sign me up (YouTube/Ben Morris)

Is Forest City actually deserted?

The city isn’t totally deserted. As we said, a few thousand people live there, and some are trying to hit back at the ‘ghost town’ label.

Forest City tenant Wafa Aina Wahid told CNA Insider she moved there since it was so affordable

She said: “Looking at the facilities, looking at the environment, I think it’s not the ghost town people have been talking about.”

Saying that, some people who lived there were desperate to see the back of the place.

Nazmi Hanafiah, an IT engineer who moved to Forest City, told the BBC that he left the area after just six months.

“I didn’t care about my deposit, I didn’t care about the money. I just had to get out.

“I’m getting goosebumps just being back. It’s lonely around here – it’s just you and your thoughts.”

He added: “To be honest, it’s creepy. I had high expectations for this place, but it was such a bad experience. There is nothing to do here.”

Additional words by Anish Vij