ECER attracts RM13 bil committed investment, creates over 10,600 job opportunities
04 Oct 2021
The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) has successfully attracted RM13 billion committed investments, surpassing the 2021 target of RM12 billion, to create over 10,600 new job opportunities, as well as 570 entrepreneurship opportunities across the economic region.
In a statement on Monday, the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) chief executive officer Baidzawi Che Mat said the committed investments thus far are a testament to the council’s efforts in organising webinars to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic direct investment (DDI).
“We have seized the opportunity to do things differently and collaborated with state governments and various agencies like the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), as well as the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Malaysia to attract investors,” he said.
ECERDC said through the council, the federal government has ensured the continuation of strategic infrastructure projects and new projects across various sectors to sustain the economic region’s competitiveness as an investment destination.
It said this has enabled ECER to see further investments in the oil, gas and petrochemical sector (OGP), integrated highlands development, steel manufacturing, glove manufacturing and green products, as well as renewable energy.
The council said in Kelantan, Phase 2 of Laman Warisan Kampung Laut redevelopment to transform Kampung Laut into a thriving tourism and cultural destination, comprising of Laman Warisan Seni and the relocation of Masjid Kampung Laut, would be completed in March 2022.
In Terengganu, it said ECERDC is maintaining its focus to attract new investments especially into Kerteh Biopolymer Park (KBP) which is currently undergoing expansion works for Phases 3B and 4.
In Pahang, it said the construction of a 29 kilometres (KM) water pipeline with an anticipated capacity of 90 million litres per day (mld) from Kemaman, Terengganu to Gebeng, Pahang is expected to be completed by April 2023.
It said in Mersing, Johor, the Jemaluang Dairy Valley (JDV) project is underway with the signing of a collaboration agreement between the council and the Johor State Government on Sept 18, 2021 to develop the JDV project as part of the overall strategy to create ECER Dairy Valley.
It said the JDV project is expected to be fully operational in 2023 with 100 new job openings and 30 agropreneurial opportunities for the local community in Mersing.
ECERDC said in bringing the knowledge of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) to Malaysian students, ECERDC has collaborated with Germany’s TUM International GmbH (TUMInt) to create the Asia Center of Excellence for Smart Technologies (ACES) I4.0 Web App.
“The web application is designed to prepare the students for jobs of the future by creating awareness of I4.0 and equipping talents in ECER with skills and knowledge to tackle the demands of the future.
“The ACES I4.0 Web App Pilot Programme had benefited 3,110 students across ECER. In this regard, ECERDC is planning to roll out the programme nationwide, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education,” it said.
On human capital development, ECERDC said the empower ECER Academic Training recorded a passing rate of 96% in the recent Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2020 compared to 54% passing rate prior to the students joining the programme.
It said the results were remarkable as the students were poor-performing students prior to their participation in the programme and are from B40 families.
Meanwhile, it said the entrepreneur ECER programme has developed 1,209 existing entrepreneurs in collaboration with Maybank, Agrobank and SIRIM Bhd this year.
Additionally, the council said its latest ECERDC-Perkeso initiative aimed to provide employment opportunities by enabling low-income households and unemployed individuals to benefit from job opportunities in ECER, as well as encourage jobseekers to join development programmes as an integral part of their lifelong learning experience in their careers.
“The initiative will involve mutual sharing of data to identify unemployed individuals and fresh graduates in ECER, with the aim of obtaining suitable job opportunities.
“We will also work closely with Perkeso (Social Security Organisation) to match participants of Perkeso’s incentive programmes with our database of investors and employers based in ECER,” it added.
Source: Bernama
