JB City Centre Regeneration: Projects Reshaping the Waterfront

For two decades, the story of Johor Bahru’s old downtown was one of potential: a historic city centre sitting right at the busiest land border crossing in the region, yet overshadowed by newer townships further out. That story is changing. Public agencies, national rail operators and private developers are now investing in the same compact area around the JB CIQ, and the result is the most concentrated wave of JB city centre development the city has seen. This guide maps the main projects reshaping the waterfront and downtown, what each one adds, and why the regeneration matters if you are looking at homes such as Causewayz Square, the EXSIM project many buyers simply call “Exsim CIQ”.

What is driving JB city centre development right now?

The short answer is the RTS Link plus a decade of groundwork by the state and the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). The rail link gives the city centre a new reason to exist as a gateway, and the earlier public works made the area ready to absorb private investment.

Three forces are working together:

• Cross-border mobility. The Causeway sees about 430,000 to 450,000 daily users, according to Malay Mail’s reporting on the RTS terminus plans. The RTS Link is designed to carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour per direction in about five minutes between Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North, which shifts a large share of daily movement into a single, walkable hub in JB city centre.
• Public-sector preparation. The Johor Baru City Centre Transformation Plan, a programme reported at about RM1.8 billion and covering 485.62 hectares of the central area, has been under way since 2013. It cleaned and reopened Sungai Segget, upgraded streetscapes and covered key sites including Bukit Timbalan, the former Lumba Kuda flats site and the Bukit Chagar CIQ.
• Private capital following transit. Large developers have committed to land beside the RTS station, the CIQ and the old customs complex, with retail, hotel and residential components that will add daily footfall and amenities.

The economic backdrop is supportive too: the city centre falls within the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), and Johor Bahru is one of the flagship zones of the wider Iskandar Malaysia corridor.

The key JB city centre projects at a glance

The table below summarises the major regeneration projects within the downtown and waterfront area, using figures published by the developers, agencies and major news outlets.

Bukit Chagar: the RTS terminus becomes a destination

Bukit Chagar is turning from a hillside behind the CIQ into the city centre’s new front door. The RTS station sits on Jalan Tun Abdul Razak with customs and immigration for both countries handled at the terminals, so passengers clear border formalities once and walk straight into JB.

The bigger change is what is planned around the station. In February 2025, Sunway signed a master agreement with MRT Corp to build an integrated development worth more than RM2.6 billion on land adjacent to the station. According to Sunway and the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), the scheme on about 1.71 hectares includes:

• a five-star hotel and hospitality space with meeting facilities;
• three blocks of roughly 1,700 serviced apartments;
• about 400,000 sq ft of retail, hospitality and wellness space, including a shopping mall;
• planned education facilities and a health and wellness hub;
• a multi-storey park-and-ride, with the first phase (850 car bays and 1,015 motorcycle bays) targeted to open by 30 November 2026.

Sunway has said the full project is targeted for completion in 2036, so this is a long-run transformation rather than a quick change. For nearby homeowners, the practical effect is that the area around the station is planned to gain hotel, retail and healthcare amenities over the next decade. For more on how the station itself works, see our Bukit Chagar RTS station guide.

Coronation Square and the new retail core

Coronation Square is a master-planned “city within a city” on the opposite side of the CIQ, and its second phase broke ground on 7 May 2026. The phase includes Coronation Square Mall, which the developer describes as the largest retail mall in JB city centre, plus an Ascott-managed hotel and two residential blocks.

Two connectivity details stand out. First, the mall is planned with an air-conditioned pedestrian overhead bridge to the RTS station. Second, a separate pedestrian bridge is planned to link Persada Johor with the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex. CapitaLand Investment is the mall’s retail adviser, and it signed an MOU with the Singapore Retailers Association to help Singapore brands enter the JB market, which hints at the kind of tenant mix planners are aiming for.

For residents of the area, a larger, better-connected retail offer adds to the existing malls such as City Square, KOMTAR JBCC and R&F Mall. Causewayz Square, about 1.5 km from City Square and KOMTAR JBCC, is also adding its own ~90,000 sq ft retail podium; we cover that in our Causewayz Square mall guide.

The waterfront: Tanjung Puteri and R&F Princess Cove

The Tanjung Puteri waterfront has already been transformed from a customs and port zone into a residential and lifestyle district. R&F Princess Cove occupies 46.94 hectares on the site of the former Tanjung Puteri Customs Complex, with the first phase alone comprising about 3,200 apartment units, according to the NST report from its groundbreaking.

Phase 1 is completed and occupied, and its R&F Mall has become a daily convenience stop for the area. NAPIC data in our research shows a median of around RM904 psf across 438 Princess Cove Phase 1 transactions from 2021 to June 2026, with a 2026 median of about RM967 psf, an indication that buyers have been willing to pay for completed waterfront product close to the CIQ. If you are weighing a completed waterfront unit against a new launch, our Causewayz Square vs R&F Princess Cove comparison sets out the differences.

The waterfront matters to the wider regeneration because it gives the city centre something many border towns lack: a sea-facing residential edge within walking distance of the border crossing. Projects with sea views along this stretch, including the higher floors of Causewayz Square, benefit from that setting.

Sungai Segget and the heritage quarter

The old commercial heart of JB, around Jalan Wong Ah Fook, has been given new public space by the Sungai Segget rejuvenation. Once listed among Malaysia’s dirtiest rivers, the Segget was covered over for decades. IRDA’s programme cleaned the water, built a centralised sewerage treatment plant, improved flood mitigation and then removed the covered section to expose the river again.

The result is Legaran Segget, a pedestrian corridor of about 1.4 km with three themed landscape zones:

1. Historical and Heritage Zone – including a sculpture of the Bugis ship Prahu Pansini.
2. Cultural and Arts Zone – public art and the Jauhar water curtain.
3. Fun and Leisure Zone – a main plaza and an interactive lit tunnel with Tenun Johor motifs.

The next layer is now coming. In October 2026, the state unity, heritage and culture committee chairman announced a heritage walk along Jalan Wong Ah Fook, QR-code signboards telling the history of city roads, and a more extensive upgrade of Little India, with works there expected to start after Deepavali. Officials described the Jalan Wong Ah Fook work as touch-ups rather than major redevelopment, but together with Segget it strengthens the heritage and food quarter that residents and visitors already use.

How Causewayz Square fits into the regeneration

Causewayz Square is one of the largest private projects inside the regeneration zone. It is located on Jalan Lumba Kuda in Tanjung Puteri, about 600 m from the JB CIQ and about 800 m from the RTS station at Bukit Chagar, on around 7.7 acres of freehold land.

Notably, the former Lumba Kuda low-cost flats site was one of the areas named within the scope of the city centre transformation plan, so the project is part of the very renewal the plan set out to encourage. Key points:

• Scale: four towers (Axis, Brixton, Coven and Dover) with 4,525 units and up to 63 storeys, built in five phases.
• Progress: piling began on 2 September 2025, and the RM1.2 billion main building contract was awarded in January 2026 with a 34-month duration. Target completion is around 2030.
• Amenities: about 90,000 sq ft of podium retail and 29 podium facilities, plus sky decks on Levels 57 and 60.
• Connectivity: a pedestrian link bridge to the CIQ/RTS area has been proposed by the developer; it is not yet built or confirmed. Today, the route is walkable by street; see our walking guide to the CIQ and RTS.

For a full overview of towers, layouts and facilities, read the Causewayz Square buyer’s guide. For the latest SPA price list, WhatsApp us.

What JB city centre regeneration means for homebuyers

Regeneration does not guarantee price growth, but it changes the fundamentals that buyers and tenants care about. Historically, districts that gain a major rail terminus alongside new retail, hotels and public space have tended to see stronger demand for well-located homes, because daily life becomes more convenient and the area becomes a destination in its own right. Our article on how the RTS could affect JB property discusses the reasoning and the experience of other rail towns.

Practical takeaways for different buyer types:

• Singapore commuters: the closer you are to Bukit Chagar, the more you benefit from a five-minute crossing. Walking distance to the station is the main convenience factor; compare options in our shortlist of condos near the JB RTS station.
• Rental investors: new hotels, offices, malls and healthcare facilities can widen the tenant pool beyond cross-border workers to include hospitality, retail and medical staff and visiting professionals.
• Own-stay families: better parks, riverside walks, a heritage quarter and larger malls make city centre living more liveable, not just more convenient.
• Long-term holders: many of the projects run to 2030 or beyond (the Sunway TOD to 2036), so the full picture will take years to emerge. Buyers with a longer horizon tend to be best placed to benefit from that timeline.

As always, look closely at the specific project: distance to the station, tenure, completion timing, layout and maintenance fees matter as much as the neighbourhood story.

How to read JB city centre development news as a buyer

The most useful habit is to test every regeneration headline against three questions: when, how far, and what for. That keeps the opportunity in focus without getting carried away by marketing language.

1. When: groundbreaking, opening and full completion are different milestones. The Bukit Chagar park-and-ride’s first phase is targeted for late 2026, but the full Sunway development runs to 2036. Match those dates to your own move-in or rental plans.
2. How far: “city centre” can mean a five-minute walk or a ten-minute drive. Walk the route from the unit to the CIQ or station yourself, and note gradients and shade rather than relying on straight-line distances.
3. What for: malls, hotels, hospitals and parks bring different kinds of footfall and tenants. Own-stay buyers tend to value daily amenities and green space; investors can look at which facilities create steady demand from working professionals.
4. Official wording: “completed”, “under construction”, “ground broken”, “proposed” and “planned” signal different levels of certainty. The Causewayz Square link bridge, for example, is currently a developer proposal.
5. The combination: a single project rarely changes an area on its own. What reshapes a district is transport, retail, public space and housing arriving together, which is the stage JB city centre is in now.

Timeline: key regeneration milestones

Here is how the main milestones line up, based on published announcements:

• 2013: City centre transformation and Sungai Segget works begin under IRDA.
• 2015: Groundbreaking for R&F Princess Cove on the former Tanjung Puteri Customs Complex.
• February 2025: Sunway and MRT Corp sign the RM2.6 billion Bukit Chagar TOD master agreement.
• September 2025: Piling starts at Causewayz Square.
• January 2026: RM1.2 billion main building contract awarded for Causewayz Square.
• 7 May 2026: Coronation Square Phase 2 (mall, hotel, residences) breaks ground.
• October 2026: Heritage facelift for Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Little India announced.
• 30 November 2026 (target): First phase of the Bukit Chagar park-and-ride opens.
• February 2027 (target): RTS Link passenger service begins; fares to be announced.
• Around 2030 (target): Causewayz Square completion.
• 2036 (target): Full completion of the Sunway Bukit Chagar development.

Want to see how these projects relate to specific units? WhatsApp us and we can walk you through the location, the towers and the latest SPA price list for Causewayz Square.

Sources

• The Star – Bringing life back to downtown JB
• IFLA APR – Sungai Segget Rejuvenation Project
• Sunway Property – Master agreement for RM2.6b transit-oriented project in Johor
• MGTC – Reshaping Johor’s landscape
• Malay Mail – RM2.6b mixed-use project planned at JB RTS terminus
• CapitaLand – Coronation Square Mall breaks ground
• NST – Princess Cove will be landmark project
• The Star – Facelift plans for Jln Wong Ah Fook and Little India

This guide is general information, not financial advice.