JOHOR BARU, Oct 14 — The initiatives and plans announced for Johor through the 2024 Budget presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will continue to be the main drivers of the state’s economic growth and development, said Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Onn Hafiz said the move proves that the Federal Government has taken into account several aspects of development as well as the projects that are needed in Johor.

He said the essence of the allocation to Johor covers the people’s basic needs such as road infrastructure, health, education, basic facilities and economic growth.

“May all these plans and efforts run smoothly for the benefit of the people of Johor in line with our vision for the state to achieve developed by 2030.

“In the 2024 Johor Budget which will be tabled soon, I will also ensure that the interests of the people will be given top priority,” he said in a post on his official Facebook today.

Among the incentives for Johor are the construction of Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 (HSA2) here, and the project to widen the North South Highway (PLUS) from four to six lanes stretching from Sedenak to Simpang Renggam at a cost of RM931 million.

Another development project is the construction of the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Phase 1 Teaching Hospital Complex in Kota Tinggi, Johor at a cost of RM938 million; and the establishment of the country’s first artificial intelligence study centre namely the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with an initial allocation of RM20 million.

In addition, the existing terms and conditions for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) will be more flexible, Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) will be made a hub for the development of the chemical and petrochemical sector with the provision of a tax incentive package in the form of a special tax rate or investment tax allowance.

Yesterday, Anwar in tabling the 2024 Budget, said the record high RM393.8 billion budget contained three areas of focus, namely best governance for service agility; economic restructuring to accelerate growth; and improving the people’s standard of living.

Onn Hafiz is scheduled to present Johor Budget for 2024 at Bangunan Sultan Ismail, Kota Iskandar, next month. — Bernama