In September 2016, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing thesundaily.my, that the Malaysian state of Johor intended to develop a desalination plant through a public-private partnership. Forest City was named as the proposed site, and the plant could have become the largest in the country. The plans rested on a water resources study looking ahead to 2060 and, according to chief minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, still awaited federal approval. Johor was also assessing rainwater and groundwater, with four tube wells planned for Mersing and Kota Tinggi in 2017.
The report showed that fast-growing regions in Southeast Asia were treating desalination at the time as one element of long-term resource planning alongside groundwater and rainwater.