KUCHING: Two new growth nodes under Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) will be implemented under the 11th Malaysia plan (11MP).
Wilson (left) and his officers brief the media on Recoda’s latest happenings. — Photo by Chimon Upon
Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) chief executive officer Tan Sri Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot said these two new growth nodes would be at Baram and Tunoh/Baleh.
“These two growth nodes will definitely be implemented under the 11th Malaysia plan. The detailed plans are being worked out right now so that they are in the list. Once they are in the list, the rest will follow.
“To implement (these growth nodes) you have to have detailed plans and designs. That’s why we cannot tell you a bold figure how much it will cost,” Wilson told The Borneo Post after briefing Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem at the latter’s office at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here yesterday.
He said the Baram growth node would probably be given the green light to go ahead first before proceeding to Tunoh/Baleh.
Wilson said beside energy generation from the Baram Dam, other economic activities would include eco-tourism, biomass and agriculture.
On another note, Wilson said SCORE was in fact the brand name for Recoda, which had so far managed to attract some RM37 billion worth of investment since it began its operation three to four years ago.
“So far, the federal government has allocated RM2.5 billion to Recoda for the infrastructure development in the three growth nodes of Samalaju, Mukah and Tanjung Manis. As for the 11th Malaysia Plan, we will definitely bid for more funding from the federal government,” Wilson said.
He said SCORE had so far been able to provide some 18,000 job opportunities to the local people in Bintulu, Mukah and Tanjung Manis.
Samalaju is focusing on manufacturing; Mukah on smart city (education and ICT) and Tanjung Manis as a palm oil integrated centre (POIC) and Halal Hub.
“Our key words on how we have implemented the projects under Recoda have been focused on size of our works, the scale of activities, the quality of our works and the speed of delivery,” Wilson said.
In fact, he said that even Asian Development Bank (ADB) was so impressed with SCORE’s success that it was willing to adopt it as its model.
“That’s how successful we have been and I am proud to say that our success is a team effort of all the agencies such as SEB, SPU, BDA, JKR, Ministry of Industrial Development and the state government,” said Wilson, who is a former state secretary.
He also rebutted the notion that SCORE had been perceived as inactive in promoting its products and services overseas especially to China which was now embarking on expanding its economy globally.
“We are targeting niche investors who are ready to invest in the areas where our infrastructure are already in place. We cannot invite investors when our infrastructure are not in place yet.
“There are investors from China, Japan and Korea already operating their businesses in Samalaju, Mukah and Tanjung Manis.
“Press Metal Group and Takoyama are already here and so are many other Chinese companies which have been involved in our dam’ construction,” he said.
Wilson also rebutted the notion that SCORE would only benefit people of the central region.
“To say that SCORE will not benefit other towns and cities in Sarawak is untrue. In fact, the spinoff of SCORE will spread throughout the state. Say for instance Miri, it will definitely benefit from the Baram growth node which will be implemented soon. So the business community in Miri must participate in developing Baram and not remain passive,” he said, adding that Miri would become the service centre for the Baram growth node as it would provide the necessary logistic needs such as hotels and airport.
Wilson was also optimistic that SCORE was on the right tract to attract some RM300 billion worth of investment and would be able to provide some 1.5 mln job opportunities by 2030.
“So when the chief minister mentioned recently that we are going to build more dams, it’s actually music to my ears because without power, we can’t talk about attracting investors to Sarawak. Attracting investors is very challenging. It’s like trying to pluck the fruits from higher branches of a tree. What it means is that we must focus on niche areas and that is energy intensive industry.”
He added that among Recoda’s top priorities was to coordinate, liaise, monitor, facilitate or oversee the implementation or execution of public (federal) funded infrastructure projects approved by the State Planning Authority or any other government agencies within the growth nodes of SCORE.
Deputy chairmen of Recoda board of directors Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu and Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani, secretary-general of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Datuk Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, director-general of Public Private Partnership Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Ahmad Husni Hussain, representatives from the economic planning unit of the Prime Minister’s Department, treasury and Ministry of Finance were among those present at the briefing.