From left: Amir Yazzed, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir, Dato’ Lion Peh, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Salleh Said Keruak, Ahmad Rizal Dahli and Noor Afzalinah Mohd Afzul Khan during the exchange of joint venture agreement.
KOTA KINABALU (Mar 3): Qhazanah Sabah Berhad (QSB), the investment arm of Sabah State Government, is looking to expand its services into establishing a One-Stop Agency (OSA) to propel the development of Sabah Utility Corridor.
The establishment of Koridor Utiliti Sabah Sdn Bhd (KUSSB) was inked via signing of a joint venture agreement (JVA) between QSB and its counterpart, Karisma Utiliti Borneo Sdn Bhd (KUBSB) on March 2 that confirms that KUSSB shall be the responsible entity for coordinating, planning, regulating and storing of data on utility infrastructure development that are developed by utility providers and developers in Sabah.
The JVA was signed between Director of KUBSB, Dato’ Lion Peh and Group Chief Executive Officer of QSB Ahmad Rizal Dahli, witnessed by QSB Chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
Ahmad Rizal commented that having a thorough and systematic State infrastructure development plan can be achieved by alleviating the utility corridor into one of world class standard where planning and regulation based on data mapping and storage are the crucial elements.
“To increase the standard of planning, one must have a clear guideline that are built on factual findings and data. This is what QSB envisions its role – to assist the Sabah State Government in efficient regulatory role by first devising a blueprint to incorporate all existing data as point of reference and use that to propel the development plan standard embodied within our Sabah Utility Corridor,” he said.
The establishment of KUSSB will not just foresee a higher standard of regulatory role on utility infrastructure, but also expected to bring various job employment opportunities to the local community and platform to bring in new skill set into Sabah.
As a subsidiary of QSB, KUSSB will be looking to work synergistically with various government institutions that include the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and Department of Land and Survey to reach consensus on the guideline framework to have a best practice in delivering its responsibility as a regulatory body.
Ahmad Rizal said that the establishment will also drive digital initiative to the forefront by introducing data centre technology to collect and store data in a 3-dimensional (3D) format.
“Qhazanah always aims to look at the bigger picture where the company don’t just strive to bring investment into Sabah but to also have multiplier effects that permeate socially and economically. Being a data driven regulatory process, KUSSB can also alleviate the standard of utility services to the people and offer safer working environment during installation or maintenance by utility providers.”
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of KUSSB, Amir Yazzed Abdul Hadi said this joint venture will provide a comprehensive utility infrastructure management system and corridor database using latest technology to set a better platform for the ease on future State planning.
“The use of full set of data is key, not only in daily operations and maintenance of utilities but in reducing the time needed to undertake new development and minimizing costs on deployment works,” he said after the signing ceremony.
Also present were Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer (Corporate), Noor Afzalinah Mohd Afzul Khan and Director of KUBSB, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir.