PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday announced 19 more Entry Point Projects (EPPs) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
MORE TO COME: Najib gestures while announcing 19 more Economic Transformation Programme start-up projects at Perdana Putra building. — Bernama photo
He said the projects would generate almost RM67 billion in investments, RM36 billion in gross national income and create 35,000 new jobs.
Since the launch of ETP on Oct 25 last year, 18 EPPs have been previously announced.
In a media briefing here, the prime minister said the 19 EPPs and development projects would come from 10 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs), led by four EPPs under the oil, gas and energy NKEA.
He said ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc, together with its production sharing contract partner Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, planned to invest over RM10 billion in new oil and gas assets to help ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies for Malaysia.
This was a follow-through from the announcement of new tax incentives under the Petroleum Income Tax Act in November 2010, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.
“This capital expenditure commitment will be utilised to rejuvenate mature facilities and undertake enhanced oil recovery activities in the Tapis field and the Telok gas development project,” he added.
Located offshore Peninsular Malaysia, the Telok project was being developed under a gas production sharing contract to provide additional supplies for the country’s power and industrial needs and to promote organic growth of the natural gas sector, he said.
Najib said another large player in this industry, Shell Malaysia, would also be investing RM5.1 billion in multiple projects to upgrade, expand or build facilities in upstream, midstream and downstream activities across Malaysia.
“These include the expansion of the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (MDS) wax plant in Bintulu, a new diesel processing unit at the Shell Refinery in Port Dickson and the Gemusut deepwater development offshore Sabah,” he said.
Further activity in this sector would see Dialog Group Bhd leading a consortium comprising the Johor government and Vopak to develop a RM5 billion independent deepwater petroleum terminal project in Pengerang, he said.
Najib said this project would have a total petroleum storage capacity of five million cubic metres and would catapult Malaysia into the ranks of a regional oil storage hub.
“I expect significant multiplier effects from the Pengerang project to cascade to the entire economy and under the ETP. It is expected to generate RM1.6 billion in gross national income by 2020,” he said.
On nuclear energy, Najib said the government was studying the possibility of deploying the energy to meet future demand and diversify the energy mix for Peninsular Malaysia.
To spearhead the initiative, he announced the formation of the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation and the appointment of Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar as its chief executive officer.
“Dr Mohd Zamzam will lead the planning based on the current development timeline of 11 to 12 years from pre-project to commissioning,” Najib added.
Under the Business Services NKEA, Najib announced that MyTelehaus, CSF Group and Teliti International data centres would help Malaysia close in on the aspiration to increase sales of data centre floor space.
“With investments of over RM671 million collectively, these three organisations will develop new and upgrade existing facilities, to supply 475,000 square feet of data centre floor space to cater to the increased demand,” he said.
Turning to the Healthcare NKEA, UM Holdings Sdn Bhd, a corporation wholly-owned by Universiti Malaya, would establish the Universiti Malaya Health Metropolis in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the Prime Minister announced.
“Integrating healthcare, bio-research and post graduate education, the project aims to elevate the standards and quality in these areas, to be among the best in the world,” he said.
He also said that it is benchmarked against Havard’s Longwood Medical centre and Stanford’s Bio-X Centre, two of the global best-in-class examples.
Najib also highlighted that the RM1.25 billion, two million square feet purpose-built facility, would be developed in collaboration with 32 healthcare, academic and technology partners.
He also announced that in another project under the Healthcare NKEA, Hovid Bhd, a home-grown pharmaceutical company, had entered into a joint venture with Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis, a global pharmaceutical company.
The joint venture will manufacture and supply generic drugs for diabetes and pain management worth RM50 million over the next five years, Najib said.
According to Najib, generics export is a strategic opportunity for Malaysia with a global market worth RM435 billion over the next 10 years, catalysed by the patent expiration of major blockbuster drugs.
Under the Tourism NKEA, he announced that the YTL Group would build the Pulau Gaya Resort, Sabah.
“Set amidst a rainforest, on the idyllic island off the coast of Kota Kinabalu, this RM75 million property will be a deluxe family resort that will certainly help boost tourist receipts in Sabah,” he said.
He also said Malaysia is recognised globally as a leading tourism destination and this sector is the fifth largest contributor to the country’s gross national income (GNI) at present.
For the Agriculture NKEA, Najib announced that the East Cost Economic Region Development Council had received approval to develop a High-Value Herbal Plantation on 461 hectares in Pasir Raja, Terengganu.
“This project will cultivate seven types of herbs in high demand, create 285 jobs and ensure the availability of ready sources of raw material as Malaysia moves up the value chain to become a leader in the production of nutraceuticals and botanicals drugs.
“It will also contribute about RM2.2 billion to the GNI by 2020,” he explained.
Moving on to Communications Content and Infrastructure area, Najib said SelecTV will invest RM30 million to create an effective and sustainable internet protocol TV (IPTV) platform to distribute Malaysian content such as TV programmes and documentaries to about 20,000 hotel rooms in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Middle East.
He said the IPTV platform would also allow travellers to enjoy advanced in-room entertainment and communication services during their stay in the hotels.
“This project will see a GNI of RM90 million by 2020,” he added.
Another major contributor to the GNI is the Wholesale and Retail NKEA, Najib said.
He said the current MINES Resort City would be expanded and transformed into the MINES Wellness City, an integrated health and wellness resort city, south of Kuala Lumpur.
“It aims to be location of choice for those seeking lifestyle and fitness counsel, health foods retail, green homes, recuperation and rehabilitation,” he added.
With an investment of about RM3 billion by 2020, this project will contribute about RM5 billion to the GNI over the next 10 years, Najib said. — Bernama
Meanwhile, Najib said that the Department of Skills Development would launch Skills Malaysia 2011, an initiative to raise awareness and showcase the vocational opportunities for students who have completed their SPM and upgrades for unskilled workers.
“This initiative is a component of the larger EPP on the private skills training provision that is expected to generate RM2.1 billion in GNI in 2010 and create 12,400 jobs in the process,” he added.
He also pointed out that the 10th Malaysia Plan has set the target of a 40 per cent skilled workforce by 2020 and therefore skills training is critical to achieving this target.
As to enabling the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley initiative to attract 100 multinational companies to establish their headquarters here, the city needs an adequate supply of top-grade office space and supporting amenities, Najib said.
Towards this end, he added, Guocoland Bhd will invest RM1.9 billion in an integrated development called Damansara City, located in Pusat Bandar Damansara.
Comprising two office blocks of 560,000 and 285,000 square feet each, a 290,000 square feet retail block, a 300-room hotel and a 260-unit serviced apartment block, this project is expected to be launched this year.
Najib said in this Third Progress Update, there were some projects which had been recently announced.
They are the RM1 billion investment in the Teluk Datai master development plan in Langkawi, the RM2.2 billion AUO SunPower solar cell fabrication facility in Melaka, the RM36.6 billion Mass Rapid Transit and the establishment of Talent Corp. — Bernama