ECER draws RM84 bln private investments as of November

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Najib is seen chairing the ECERDC meeting yesterday at Menara Parlimen. — Bernama photo

Najib is seen chairing the ECERDC meeting yesterday at Menara Parlimen. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) has attracted RM84 billion in private investments as of November this year, said the  East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC).

The investments, representing a return of 14 times to the government and 76 per cent of ECER’s target of RM110 billion worth of investments by 2020, are expected to create 92,313 jobs, ECERDC said in a statement yesterday.

“The manufacturing cluster is the biggest contributor with investments valued at RM46.3 billion, followed by tourism (RM14.1 billion), bio-economy (RM7.4 billion) and oil, gas and petro-chemicals (RM5.2 billion,” it said.

The government has allocated about RM6 billion under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) and Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP) to implement high-impact projects in the economic region, it said.

All 67 projects and programmes under the 9MP have been implemented, while  26 projects and programmes under the 10MP have been completed with 20 at various stages of implementation, it added.

ECERDC held a meeting at Menara Parlimen here yesterday chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also the council’s chairman.

In the same statement, Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issac John said despite the challenges ECERDC faced in attracting investments to ECER earlier in the year, it has continued to boost these efforts with the cooperation of the relevant government agencies.

“There have been obvious improvements in the third and fourth quarters of this year, and this year alone the ECER has attracted investments totalling RM12.5 billion, exceeding the target of RM12 billion,” he said.

ECER’s industrial parks, such as the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, Pekan Automotive Park, Kertih Biopolymer Park, Kuantan Integrated Biopark, Gambang Halal Park and Pasir Mas Halal Park, have continued to attract investments due to their competitive advantages, he said.

Cumulative investments to these industrial parks currently stand at RM19.54 billion and could create 22,377 new jobs, ECERDC said. — Bernama