Sultan Ibrahim (centre) is seen during a visit to officiate the Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal in Johor March 31, 2022. — Picture via Facebook
JOHOR BARU, March 31 — Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar today officiated the Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal in Kota Tinggi, with the facility expected to drive southeastern Johor’s tourism and economic sectors.
In his latest Facebook posting, Sultan Ibrahim shared images of the many facilities available at the Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal, which is touted as Malaysia’s 16th new international gateway.
The 63-year-old state monarch explained that the ferry terminal, which is equipped with an Immigration, Customs and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) and maritime facilities, will enhance the connectivity of international destinations from Singapore and Batam as well as Bintan, Indonesia’s Riau Islands.
“The arrival of international tourists is believed to boost local economic activities, especially traders, entrepreneurs and other industry players as well as create more employment opportunities,” posted Sultan Ibrahim in his official Facebook.
Present at the ceremony was Tunku Temenggong Johor, Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim.
They were also accompanied by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
The Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal in Kota Tinggi opens at an opportune time as it comes a day ahead of the much anticipated reopening of the country tomorrow.
For Johor, the state government expects about 400,000 people to make the crossing between Malaysia and Singapore in the first week of the land border reopening tomorrow.
The southern state has two land border crossings connecting to Singapore.
The main crossing is the Johor Causeway that connects the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar’s CIQ in Johor Baru to Woodlands in Singapore and the Second Link Crossing, located near Gelang Patah in Iskandar Puteri, connecting the Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex in Johor to Tuas in the island republic.
Both border checkpoints have been described as one of the world’s busiest international border crossings.