News From : DagangHalal.com (12 Jun 2009)
KUCHING, June 11 (Bernama) — A total of 24 projects worth RM80 billion in investment have been approved by the Regional Economic Development Authority (RECODA) to be implemented in Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) in the next five years, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said Thursday.
Taib, who is also the state Finance Minister, said the projects would generate more than 20,000 jobs, not including those created in the construction of basic infrastructure and factories.
“The biggest projects approved are an aluminium smelter plant in Mukah and a polysilicon manufacturing plant within the SCORE. The others are at various stages,” he said.
“I hope by 2013, things would be visible on the ground,” he told reporters after chairing RECODA’s first meeting at his office at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here.
Taib said the aluminium smelter plant of Press Metal Bhd, a Malaysian-based aluminium company, has an extrusion capacity of 100,000 metric tones per annum.
“It is expected to start production in August with an initial production of 50,000 metric tones per year,” he said.
SCORE, one of the five regional development corridors being developed throughout the country, is located within the Central Region of Sarawak, stretching for 320 kilometres along the coast from Tanjung Manis to Similajau and extending into the surrounding areas and the hinterland.
Core of the corridor is the energy resources, particularly hydropower (28,000 megawatts), coal (1.46 billion tonnes), and natural gas (40.9 trillion square cubic feet) found abundantly within the Central Region.
On the Tanjung Manis halal hub, Taib said to date, a total of RM400 million investments had been pumped in with another RM2 billion expected in the next five years.
“The construction of a halal hub laboratory to conduct scientific works and quality control of the products will start at the end of this months or early next month,” he said.
Taib said RECODA has spent about RM1 billion in providing the basic infrastructure of SCORE since its formation.
He said the money was spent on manpower planning and training, building of the Mukah airport, planning and implementation of roads to Baram and Murum Dam and the setting up of an industrial park.
“I’m quite happy that by the time we have our first meeting today, things are up-to-date,” he added.
Taib also announced that State Secretary Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot would be appointed as RECODA’s chief executive officer when he retires in August this year.
RECODA is the body to manage and implement SCORE. Its main goal is to ensure the success of SCORE by 2030 by creating 1.5 million new jobs and achieving an average gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth of 5.5 percent per annum.
Its role will be to achieve the projected investment of RM305 million over the next 20 years and ensure that planned physical and institutional infrastructure projects are successfully implemented.
— BERNAMA