KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) region recorded public and private investments worth RM102.36 billion in 2022, said Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.
Of this amount, RM93.09 billion was contributed by private investment through the implementation of 334 projects, while a total of RM9.17 billion was from public investment involving the implementation of 326 projects.
“SCORE is targeting a planned total investment of RM334 billion by 2030, with private investment of RM267 billion and government investment of RM67 billion,” she said in Parliament in response to a question from Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH- Sibu), who asked about the latest developments and achievements of SCORE in Tanjong Manis, Sarawak.
Commenting further on SCORE, she explained that the Tanjung Manis Economic Growth Area (T-MEGA) is one of the main growth nodes that have been identified within the SCORE region which aims to drive economic development in Tanjung Manis and improve the standard of living of the local population. Up to now, T-MEGA has registered an investment of RM1.4 billion and the Regional Corridor Development Authority expects a total of RM803.5 million in investment to be realised by 2026.
“The latest export value of RM2.5 billion from the Central Region of Sarawak, including T-MEGA, has been recorded through Tanjung Manis Port and it is expected to continue to increase to RM4.5 billion by 2030,” she added.
Hanifah added that T-MEGA is a newly developed (greenfield area) and the initial phase is focused on the development of basic infrastructure facilities such as roads, water supply, telecommunications, electricity and logistics infrastructure to support the basic needs of the planned industries and provide benefits to the local population.
“So far, all the planned infrastructures have been implemented according to schedule except for the dredging of the Kuala Rajang estuary to Tanjung Manis Port, testing and commissioning of water supply from Sibu which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. The Pasi-Tanjung Manis road construction project, including the bridge connecting Sarikei and Tanjung Manis, is scheduled to be completed in 2024,” she added.
Meanwhile, in response to questions posed by Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed@Hashim (PN - Kuala Terengganu) and Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN - Kuala Krai) regarding the government’s initiative in helping infrastructure development and channeling development funds for east coast states, Hanifah said under the Rolling Plan 2 for 2022, the east coast states (covering Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu) have been allocated basic development allocations of RM5.89 billion.
“A total of 1,068 development projects under various ministries were approved and for the state of Terengganu in particular, the approved development allocation was as much as RM1.37 billion involving the implementation of a total of 327 projects under various ministries,” she explained.
The government allocated as much as RM162.8 million in development expenditure in 2022 for the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) to finance infrastructure construction programmes/projects involving states in the ECER region such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing District, Johor, she added.
Hanifah also said that during the 12th Malaysia Plan, the East Coast Economic Development Council (ECERDC) recorded a total committed investment of RM16.90 billion with a total realised investments of RM6.45 billion and in 2021 and 2022, ECERDC succeeded in creating 18,864 job opportunities and 2,336 entrepreneurial opportunities in ECER.
“For the development of rural areas in the east coast states, a total of 95 projects with allocations amounting to RM300.8 million were approved under the Rolling Plan 2 for 2022. This allocation is to implement projects such as roads, water and electricity supply through the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development,” she explained. — Bernama
