JOHOR BARU, March 9 — The highly-anticipated RM1.4 billion Sultan Ibrahim Solar Park’s official ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for this month has been scrapped due to the federal government remaining silent on the project.

Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar confirmed the cancellation of the project’s ground-breaking ceremony in a post on his official Facebook account today.

The post said the decision to cancel the ceremony was made as the federal government has yet to give any response with regards to the proposed project.

The event was earlier scheduled to be officiated by Sultan Ibrahim on March 23 in Pengerang in Kota Tinggi, marking Johor’s entry as a major producer of eco-friendly energy in South-east Asia.

Sultan Ibrahim was quoted in the post as saying that he does not see any reason why the federal government would not be willing to give Johor a chance to be an eco-friendly producer of electricity.

"We have a suitable plot for the project, robust growth and development, as well as a healthy demand from our neighbour, which makes Johor a most strategic location,” he said, referring to Singapore as Johor’s immediate neighbour to the south.

On February 28, it was reported that Johor is set to become a major producer of renewable energy in South-east Asia, with the opening of the Sultan Ibrahim Solar Park in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi worth RM1.4 billion.

The commissioning of the project’s power plant by 2023 will make it the biggest of its kind in the region with a capacity of 450 megawatts.

The solar park, which is the first large-scale private investment project secured by the state for 2021, came from Sultan Ibrahim’s efforts to encourage investment and economic development for the people and Johor.

The project is also in line with the 2030 Johor Sustainable Development Plan which places major emphasis on environmental preservation and protection as part of the state’s economic development plan for a more prosperous society.

It will also have a positive economic spillover effect for the state, with job creation at various levels, as the solar park will be the region’s largest solar energy storage system when fully operational.