Phoong (third from left) after the signing of agreement between Remajaya and CSX Holdings Sdn Bhd.
KOTA KINABALU (April 30): The state government will establish a special committee to actively look into the available land in Sabah for industrial use.
State Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Phoong Jin Zhe said the proposal was brought up and approved in a Cabinet meeting two weeks ago, and discussions with the relevant parties are already underway.
“The committee will look into available lands for industrial use here. It will probe the land’s technicalities, location, if there are any costs involved for land acquisition, and whether it can be competitive enough to be developed as an industrial area.
“Of course it will also check if the land has basic necessities as you cannot create an industrial area or park if there are no roads or electricity connections. So the potential lands have to be situated near power grids and other utilities,” he said when witnessing an agreement signed between Remajaya and CSX Holdings Sdn Bhd at Bay 21 condominium here, on Sunday.
Phoong stressed the importance of the committee, and had told the Cabinet that addressing the issue of industrial land scarcity cannot be delayed and has to be dealt with quickly to facilitate potential investors.
He said even if more industrial investors start showing interest in Sabah, there would be no point if they cannot even offer them any land for them to carry out their projects. Hence, the committee must be able to tackle the issue.
“Not only in Sabah’s West Coast, but I had also told the Cabinet to look into the East Coast, especially near the Kalimantan border,” he added.
Phoong said the special committee will be chaired by the State Secretary and will involve many other parties such as his ministry, State Land and Surveys Department, State Water Department, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, District Offices and Municipal Councils.
Phoong said he had also spoken to Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association president Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping for a possible cooperation on this matter but nothing has been confirmed yet.