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This article presents an argument that the sustainability of the effort to 'fast track' development in the Singapore-Indonesian border zone has yet to be demonstrated. These problems and the slow take off of the other flagship investments partly illustrate the limits of a development strategy that emphasizes fragmented enclaves of improvement. As is the broader pattern across Southeast Asia, there is little willingness to countenance the development of a functionally integrated cross-border economy that might compromise national sovereignty, incidentally questioning interpretations of the growth triangle projects as part of the trend toward a 'borderless' world economy. From both a welfare and employer perspective the development of an independent residential commitment amongst the workforce might be seen as positive. It supports retention of an older and experienced workforce with a preference for staying on the island and provides a monetary commitment that might affect attitudes at work. With respect to the interpretation of Singapore-Indonesian border cooperation as part of the shift toward a borderless world economy, this article suggests that claims about such a trend have tended to indiscriminately label processes producing different outcomes.