Eco-friendly Forest City that cost $100 billion is now a complete ghost town with no change in sight

The whole concept of an eco-friendly city has become more prevalent over the years - but this megacity has been left a ghost town for years.

A megacity dubbed as the 'Forest City' was meant to be this big Chinese initiative when it was first unveiled - but it has been a ghost town for years.

The Malaysian-based coastal city - which cost $100 billion to make - was designed to house up to a million people, complete with a golf course, water park and restaurants.

Building work on the project first began in 2016, but it has been far from plain sailing since then.

According to the BBC, only around 15 percent of Forest City has been built, with just one percent of what has been built being occupied.

Despite things looking pretty bleak now, the Chinese property developer, Country Garden, is 'optimistic' that the town will eventually be finished.

However, they are facing debts of almost $200 billion - leaving many skeptical that it will even reach close to the finish line.

But with 15 percent of the city finished, why are just one percent of the buildings occupied?

MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

The BBC states that Forest City was aimed at selling properties in Malaysia to Chinese buyers - essentially acting as a home-away-from-home.

But prices have well and truly spiralled out of control, with the homes in Malaysia now out of a lot of people's price range.

The best that locals can hope for is for someone more wealthy to purchase a home in the Forest City, as renting from them is a more viable option.

And like every project, the pandemic did not help things - as it ultimately stopped the building process for a period of time.

Furthermore, it appears that folks just don't want to buy the flats, which is a bit of a problem for the city developers.

MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

Essentially, money from sales of flats was intended to fund the rest of Forest City.

IT engineer Nazmi Hanafiah told the BBC that he'd moved out of Forest City after just six months.

He had rented a one-bedroom apartment overlooking the sea, saying: "I managed to escape this place. I didn't care about my deposit, I didn't care about the money. I just had to get out.

"I'm getting goosebumps just being back. It's lonely around here - it's just you and your thoughts."

He added: "To be honest, it's creepy. I had high expectations for this place, but it was such a bad experience.

"There is nothing to do here."

• Discovery of $540 billion worth of 'white gold' sitting beneath giant lake could change the future
• Woman who travels to work by plane every single day because it's cheaper than living in city reveals cost of rent