Will Rapid Development in Johor Impact Water Access, Quality or Price in Singapore?

Johor’s growth has been both rapid and encompassing, and includes evolving trends in demographic, industrial, transportation and social spheres. Such growth raises significant questions for Singapore, which currently relies on Johor for 40 per cent of its water needs. What is the impact of the transformation now underway in Johor on the future capacity and willingness of the state to continue supplying water to Singapore? This NTS Insight explores the stresses on water availability in Johor, and argues that these, together with increasing politicisation of water within Malaysia itself, could potentially be critical for Singapore-Johor water relations. This is part of a series exploring the changing Singapore-Johor relationship in the sectors of freshwater, air and maritime ecosystems.