The government voiced confidence it will attract billions of dollars in global investments to turn Johor into a metropolis similar to China's Shenzhen or Hong Kong.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the state neighbouring Singapore was expected to draw investors from the Middle East, Americas and Asia.

"Our 20-year plan is to attract US$105 billion dollars, and RM50 billion in the next five years," he told reporters after hosting the inaugural meeting of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, which oversees development of the region.

"It will be one of the global new growth centres. Therefore we have to be competitive to draw investors. It has good potential to be successful," he said.

The project, called the Iskandar Development Region (IDR), will be 2.5 times the size of Singapore and cover an area of 2,217 square kilometers.

"The IDR will become the largest urban development that Southeast Asia has seen to date," Abdullah said later today at the launch of the flagship Nusajaya project in the development region.

He said he wants the area to compete for investments with Dubai, Shenzhen, Bangalore and other global centers.

Malaysia has long dreamed of turning sleepy southern Johor state into a major metropolis across from booming and orderly Singapore. But the Malaysian state's shabby capital Johor Baru has struggled to shrug off a reputation for crime and disorder.

Kishu Tirathai, a businessman and a member of the IDR's advisory group, told AFP it "will not be difficult" to attract US$105 billion.

"Planning has been done. The physical structures are coming up. The main challenge now is marketing and implementation," he said.

Abdullah previously said the government will inject RM4.3 billion while Khazanah Nasional, the state investment agency, will pump in RM3.4 billion and the private sector will provide RM10 billion in the early phase of the plan, previously called the South Johor Economic Zone.

Benefit of low cost

But Abdullah, who is also the finance minister, warned that for the plan to be successful, Malaysia had to work hard, be competitive and was prepared to hire foreign experts to help realise it.

"We have the benefit of low cost. The population has technical skills. We should be ready to employ international professionals whenever it is needed," he said in Pulai, a town inside the development area and west of Johor Baru.

Abdullah said "good governance and accountability" were also needed to make the area attractive, adding that incentives were being drawn up to woo investors. He did not elaborate.

Two companies linked to the travel and tourism industry on Friday signed an agreement to build a hotel and a resort in the region.

Singapore-based Amanresorts Limited will develop a luxury resort expected to be completed in 2009 and aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes' Tune Hotels will put up a budget hotel by early next year, a document issued by Khazanah Nasional said.

The state's administrative capital will shift from Johor Baru to Bandar Nusajaya in the southern tip of Johor, closer to Singapore which lies across a narrow strait. Development of the capital, which will feature Moorish architecture, is expected to be completed in August at a cost of RM1 billion.

The project is also to include exclusive residential homes, a logistics hub, a waterfront city, a medical hub, a theme park and an educational city.