KUALA NERUS: The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) says its implementation of the integrated development model with the cooperation of the Terengganu government secured committed investments worth RM700 mil last year.
CEO Baidzawi Che Mat said 54% of the committed investments was in the rapidly-growing agriculture sector, followed by manufacturing (24%) and tourism (22%).
He noted in a statement today that the state is now an attractive investment destinaton for domestic and local investors, creating jobs and business opportunities for local communities.
Baidzawi had earlier attended an ECER Implementation and Coordination Committee (ICC) Terengganu meeting chaired by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) here.
Between 2007 and 2019, Terengganu attracted some RM34.7 bil worth of investments in ECER projects and programmes that created 34,000 jobs and 3,700 business opportunities for the state’s residents.
Baidzawi said ECERDC will continue to focus on attractng investments into other sectors such as medical instruments, petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, minerals, renewable energy, agribusiness and tourism.
“The federal government through the ECERDC and the state government also initiated several projects that have catalysed growth in Terengganu, including the iconic bridge in the Kuala Terengganu City Centre (KTCC) that was completed in 2019,” he said.
KTCC has become a new tourist destination while the project supports the downstream marine sector around Pulau Duyong, he noted, adding efforts will be stepped up to attract investments worth RM70 bil to ECER by 2025 as outlined in the ECER Master Plan 2.0.
Of the RM70 bil, Terengganu is expected to attract investments worth RM26 bil that would create 36,600 jobs and 15,550 entrepreneurs by 2025. – Feb 11, 2020, Bernama
