Sijori Growth Triangle
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The SIJORI Growth Triangle is a partnership arrangement between Singapore, Johor (in Malaysia), and Riau (in Indonesia) that combines the competitive strengths of the three areas to make the subregion more attractive to regional and international investors. More specifically, it links the infrastructure, capital, and expertise of Singapore with the natural and labour resources of Johor and Riau.
The SIJORI Growth Triangle was first publicly announced in 1989 by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The 'triangle of growth' was envisioned to be a key component of the Singapore regionalization scheme of the 1980s and 1990s, relocating labor intensive industries to neighbouring places such as the Malaysian state of Johor and the island of Batam in the nearby Indonesian province of Riau Islands.
To its north, the island city-state of Singapore is connected by a road bridge (Tuas Second Link) as well as a road and rail causeway to Johor Bahru, the capital of the southernmost Malaysian state of Johor. To Singapore's south, lie the nearby Indonesian islands of the Riau archipelago, including Batam, Bintan and the Karimun islands, which are connected to Singapore by regular high-speed ferry services.
The populations and economies of both of these neighbouring Malaysian and Indonesian regions are closely and increasingly integrated with Singapore. Many Singapore manufacturing industries have relocated their production facilities to these regions, often within industrial parks developed by Singaporean property developers. Meanwhile, in the case of Johor Bahru, thousands of workers travel across the border every day to work in Singapore, often in factories. Many of these workers are ferried over in large chartered coaches, while others use their own motorcycles or else public transport. Singapore companies have also started to develop non-manufacturing businesses in these regions, such as the development of tourist resorts on Bintan catering to the Singapore market. At these resorts, the Singapore dollar is generally accepted and preferred to the Indonesian Rupiah, and prices tend to reflect those on Singapore.
Another example of the integration of these regions - Singapore imports half its water supply from Johor via water pipelines. Meanwhile, Singapore imports almost all the natural gas that it uses to generate electricity from both Malaysia and Indonesia via gas pipelines. Singaporeans also routinely travel to either or both of these regions for school camping trips and learning expeditions, business retreats, family holidays, especially short day trips or overnight trips, as well as to buy goods and services that are considerably cheaper than in Singapore, ranging from groceries to bridal gowns to petrol to seafood dinners. Others travel to these areas for goods and services that are not easily available in Singapore, from horse riding classes to pirated videos.
