The Abu Dhabi government's investment arm is expected to sign a 4 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) deal to acquire a huge tract of land in Malaysia's southern state of Johor, the Edge newspaper said.

Malaysia last year unveiled a $105-billion blueprint to turn 2,200 square km (850 sq miles) of the southern state into an industrial and tourism zone close to its border with Singapore, with most of the funds coming from private investors.

A pact is due to be signed this week between the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (AIDA) and the South Johor Investment Corporation, which owns a significant landbank in the southern state, the Edge financial daily quoted unidentified sources as saying.

The project's gross development value on the parcel of land could be more than 25 billion ringgit and it could be developed over 15 to 20 years, the paper added.

A spokesman for Malaysian state investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the major shareholder in the South Johor Investment Corp, declined to comment on the report.

ADIA is among the largest government investment authorities in the world and is responsible for investing all of the Abu Dhabi state oil revenues and assets.

Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai estimates that state-owned ADIA manages between $450 billion and $500 billion. - Reuters