12-02-2008: sarawak corridor to attract rm334b investments

by joseph chin
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bintulu: the sarawak corridor, which was launched yesterday, should attract rm334 billion in
investments from now until 2030, with the federal government accounting for 15% of the
investments.

according to the sarawak corridor of renewable energy (score) master plan launched by prime
minister datuk seri abdullah ahmad badawi yesterday, the corridor would be developed in the
central region — covering 70,700 sq km in the bintulu, kapit, sibu, mukah and sarikei divisions.

“so far, the central region’s potential had not been developed due, among others, to its scarce
population. with development coming in now, there will be huge economic and social impact,”
abdullah said when launching score at the bintulu promenade here.

according to a bernama report, he said the spillover benefits from the region’s development would
be seen in other parts of sarawak as well.

the prime minister also announced a rm5 billion allocation for high impact projects that have been
identified under the ninth malaysia plan (9mp) for the development of score.

he also witnessed the signing of 13 memorandums of understanding (mous) between the

sarawak government and companies taking part in score.

the mous involved the state government, sarawak energy bhd, cahaya mata sarawak bhd and rio
tinto aluminum ltd for the supply of energy of between 900mw and 1,200mw for an aluminum
smelter in similajau with an investment value of rm5.25 billion.

abdullah said to catalyse the development of score, three growth centres had been identified —
tanjung manis, similajau and mukah.

tanjung manis, a port whose hinterland is resource-rich, will become a manufacturing and small
industries centre, and he said: “by 2030 we hope it will become an important regional port city.”

similajau will be an industrial city underpinning a new industrial centre, housing heavy industries
such as oil & gas, aluminum, steel and silica, with a deepwater port set to be built there.

mukah will be an education hub and a “smart city,” drawing not only academic and research
institutions but also skills training centres.

“as high as the hornbill soars, juat as high are the hopes of the sarawak people on the success of
this corridor, and they are ready to accept development to improve their quality of life,” he said.

the prime minister said that with the full implementation of the score master plan by 2030,
sarawak would see its gross domestic product (gdp) growing from rm23 billion now to rm118
billion, with annual gdp growth pace rising to 7% from 5% now.

in this period, 1.6 million high-value job opportunities will be created throughout sarawak, about
half of them in industries emerging in score, he added.

by 2010, according to abdullah, hardcore poverty in sarawak will be wiped out while poverty
would be reduced to less than 1% by 2030 from 7.5% of the population now.

abdullah said he has directed that a “green development framework” study be undertaken to
ensure that score’s development is environmentally friendly.
“this is to ensure that our energy resources will be developed in a sustainable and
environmentally sound manner,” he stressed.

energy resources, especially hydro power of 20,000mw, coal deposits of 1.46 billiion metric
tonnes and natural gas deposits of 40.9 trillion cu ft, are readily available in the score region.

recoda, the regional corridor development authority, has been set up as a one-stop agency to
facilitate all investment activities in score as well as drive the development of the central region
and the whole state towards fully developed status by 2020.

this is the fifth development corridor that abdullah has launched to ensure balanced development
throughout the country. the others are the iskandar development region in the southern tip of the
peninsula, the northern corridor economic region, the east coast economic region and the sabah
development corridor.