Petronas on East Coast Economic Region plans

It says master plan an attempt to bring development

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said yesterday the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) master plan represents a cohesive attempt to bring development and improve the standard of living of the 3.9 million residents in the area. 

The plan, which lays down a blueprint for a number of industries and what industries to be developed, remained a daunting task for the council that oversaw the plan to deliver, said Petronas vice-president (corporate planning and development division) Datuk Nasarudin Md Idris. 

“The key is to consolidate the effort and work in a more cohesive manner,” he told the media during a briefing on the ECER yesterday. 

The ECER is an expansive master plan that will map out the development of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia over the next 12 years. 

Development of the area will be overseen by a council to be headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Members of the council will also include the deputy prime minister, mentris besar of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor, the chief secretary to the Government, and representatives from the Government and the private sector. 

The ECER master plan looks at development from a regional approach and aims to leverage on the strengths and the resource base of each state. The ECER's areas of focus and specialisation are intended to complement the Iskandar Development Region and Northern Corridor Economic Region. 

The broad-based plan estimates that RM112bil would be spent on 227 projects in key industries such as tourism, agriculture, petrochemicals and manufacturing. Most of the money, however, will go towards improving the infrastructure of the east coast. 

The plan also calls for the protection of the environment and heritage. Petronas said projects planned in the ECER must take cognizance of environmental protection needs and the preservation of cultural heritage, which is the driving characteristic in its tourism initiatives. 

The development of petrochemicals would see the building of a plastics industrial park where RM1.3bil is projected to be invested and 2,000 jobs created. 

In manufacturing, projects in handicraft, halal food, boat building, rubber wood, palm oil and free zones are among the main thrusts of the plan. 

For agriculture, the Petronas master plan calls for clusters that focus on crops, fisheries and livestock to be cultivated. 

In improving transportation in the east coast, the master plan calls for the establishment of a “spine” expressway, improvements on existing federal roads and upgrading of supporting roads. 

New expressways would connect Kuala Terengganu with Kota Baru and Kuantan with Johor Baru. 

The planned projects will also see new initiatives being offered to investors. 

Petronas special project corporate planning and development division general manager Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said one possibility would be the granting of pioneer status for longer than 10 years. 

“The incentives are location specific,'' he said. 

On the total allocation of RM112bil or RM9.3bil per year for the four states, Nasarudin said although the amount was not a quantum leap over what was being spent now, it was the effectiveness of the spending that was more important. 

The NCER is expected to be promoted to foreign investors, and government-linked companies are expected to play a lead role in some of the development projects.