14/08/2012 (Borneo Post) - As the one-stop authority in driving the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) has been aligning ‘hard and soft’ infrastructure as per the requirements of the promoted sectors.

Its focus is more to the designated economic clusters such as the palm oil industrial cluster, Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT), Keningau Integrated Livestock Centre, Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct, Agropolitan projects and Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave.

Datuk Yaacob

According to Sedia chief executive officer Datuk Yaacob, key focus areas for SDC following the alignment with the National Key Economic Areas were tourism, palm oil, agriculture, oil and gas, energy, education as well as manufacturing and logistics.

The programme had also identified five focus areas to turn Greater Kota Kinabalu into a strong, vibrant and liveable city – the five areas were development and modernisation, tourism, mobility and travel, healthcare as well as education.

A total of 31 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) had been identified with an investment target of RM77.5 billion by the year 2020, he pointed out.

The SDC initiative aimed to triple Sabah’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to at least RM14,784 by 2025 and increase its GDP four-fold to RM63.2 billion through the implementation of prioritised programmes.

“Despite uncertainties in the global economy and moderation in external trade, we expect the state’s economic performance over the remaining Tenth Malaysia Plan period to average to more than five per cent,” Yaacob told The Borneo Post in an interview.

“In terms of investor confidence, this can be gauged from the fact that SDC has managed to secure a planned investment of RM112 billion as at the end of June 2012,” he added.

Engagement with the private sector was to be the key focus of the ‘second phase’ from 2011 to 2015. During this period, measures and incentives would be customised to attract investments in the designated strategic development areas, economic zones and clusters.

“Since that the second phase of SDC concides with the implementation of the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and facilitation fund are some of the measures introduced to support private sector-led investment,” he highlighted.

ETP was designed to support investment projects with the potential to generate high income while PPP was targeted at attracting private-sector participation in strategic infrastructure projects such as public transportation systems, hospital and healthcare facilities, and green energy.

Under PPP, the private sector could submit proposals detailing the core of the projects, business plans and total costs, as well as putting financial proposals directly to the respective government bodies, Yaacob explained.

“Private companies can invest not just in production and manufacturing facilities, they can also invest in the povision of infrastructure. Projects under this programme which have been approved include the provision of power supply, tourism access roads, a medical centre and an international convention centre,” he added.

On the other hand, Sedia is also actively engaging with Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to mobilise investments in the key economic areas under the Regional Cities and Corridors programme, which included palm oil; oil, gas and energy; agriculture, tourism, eucation, manufacturing and logistics.

During the period 2012 to 2013, Sedia would be setting up investment liaison offices and satellite offices in designated locations/clusters to provide business support services, customising investment incentives, developing non-fiscal packages to attract investment as well as to improve on research and development network, he revealed.

The authority would also facilitate foreign investors who partnered or joint ventured with Government-linked companies, SDC’s implementing agencies, SPVs or local entrepreneurs.

“We want a balanced and sustainable development. One of the key priorities for attracting investments into Sabah is attracting activities that can generate high value and therefore drive forward economic growth.

“Now that the Corridors and Regional Cities Programme for SDC and Greater Kota Kinabalu have been launched, we are ready to implement the various action plans, programmes and projects identified. This is timely for us as we are now in the second phase of SDC and during this phase, our main focus shall be to attract more private placements in the SDC,” he concluded.