MALAYSIA: Iskandar Puteri Metropolis Council (MBIP) has disbursed a report RM1 million (approx. S$315,000) in grants to 32 neighborhood tasks specializing in inexperienced and low-carbon initiatives within the sixth version of its Iskandar Puteri Low-Carbon Neighborhood Grant (IPRK) programme. This was its largest allocation because the initiative started in 2021.
In response to Make investments Johor, Iskandar Puteri mayor Dato’ Hasrin Kamal Hashim mentioned the report allocation displays the town’s dedication to balancing the fast improvement anticipated underneath the Johor-Singapore Particular Financial Zone (JS-SEZ) with environmental sustainability and local weather resilience.
“With the JS-SEZ anticipated to carry fast improvement to the realm, MBIP needs to make sure stability by environmental sustainability and resilience in opposition to future local weather change challenges,” he mentioned.
IPRK 6.0 introduces two new precedence areas: Inexperienced Digital Ecosystems and the Round Financial system. These are in step with the JS-SEZ’s concentrate on inexperienced funding and sustainability.
The programme has additionally expanded past low-carbon initiatives to assist sensible metropolis and studying metropolis tasks, following MBIP’s recognition as a member of the UNESCO World Community of Studying Cities.
The programme’s monitor report
Since 2021, IPRK has funded 125 neighborhood tasks with whole allocations exceeding RM2.3 million. The initiative has been projected to profit 70,000 residents in Iskandar Puteri, having already diverted greater than 200,000 kg of waste from landfills and decreased carbon dioxide emissions by 639,533 kg.
For the 2026 version, MBIP and its strategic companions, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, IRDA, the Johor Training Division, and SWM Atmosphere Sdn Bhd, acquired 144 functions from residents’ associations, locations of worship, colleges, educational establishments, and non-governmental organisations.
Among the many chosen tasks is Ecosoap Empowerment by the Johor Down Syndrome Affiliation, which educates individuals on recycling used cooking oil into round financial system merchandise.
The Hibiscus Zone residents’ affiliation in Taman Pulai Indah, a earlier IPRK recipient, acquired RM40,000 this 12 months to scale its “Kraf Hibiscus” mission right into a social enterprise. The mission beforehand used RM20,000 from IPRK 5.0 to divert greater than 4,000 kg of material waste from landfills by empowering housewives and senior residents by upcycled textile merchandise. The expanded grant will combine round financial system practices with digital options to construct a sustainable worth chain.
Why this issues for the JS-SEZ
The IPRK programme’s growth indicators that Iskandar Puteri is actively constructing the community-level sustainability infrastructure that credible inexperienced funding locations require.
Because the JS-SEZ attracts large-scale industrial and digital funding, the flexibility to display grassroots environmental dedication alongside regulatory frameworks and inexperienced financing will strengthen Johor’s positioning as a zone the place sustainability is practised throughout all ranges of the financial system, not simply on the company or authorities tier.
Learn additionally: STT GDC secures US$1.37 billion inexperienced financing for Johor knowledge centre campus as Temasek-backed agency bets on Iskandar Puteri