PROTON Holdings Berhad, Malaysia’s first car manufacturer, is fully set to relocate its Shah Alam operations to Tanjung Malim by 2027, said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
Saarani said the state government has formed a special committee, led by state Secretary Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim, to build more infrastructure in the Muallim district.
“Two days ago, I broke my fast with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and he briefed me on his meeting with the senior leaders from Proton-Geely when he visited China,” he told reporters while distributing Hari Raya goodies to uniformed personnel at Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan.
“It is indeed that Proton-Geely will have additional investment in Malaysia, specifically in Proton City and future investments are expected to go up to RM32 bil.
“Once Proton has fully relocated its operation from Shah Alam to Proton City by 2027, all its operations including vendors will be moved too.”
According to Saarani, the additional investment in Proton City has led to the committee holding a meeting to see how the state government could provide infrastructure in the district.
“We need to provide more space or area for this industry and we need to consider the number of vendors coming in too. At the same time, we must be prepared to accept the volume of workers coming in,” he noted.
“This includes housing and we have talked about the matter with Perak Housing and Property Board and they have gone there to see how we want to provide adequate homes and schools.”
On the school infrastructure, Saarani said that the state government had discussed with the Education Ministry and they would come out with budgets to build schools and provide more teachers here.
“There are about 7,000 Proton workers and we estimate that 21,000 people including their families will be moving here. That is why we need ample schools,” he said.
According to reports, the Prime minister’s and Malaysian delegation’s visit to China resulted in a total of RM170.07 bil in investment commitments – the highest amount ever achieved.
Malaysia and China also agreed to look into new areas of collaboration, such as new-generation car manufacturing through the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV) project and the halal industry.
The AHTV project, a collaboration between Malaysia’s DRB-HICOM Bhd and the Chinese company Geely, is expected to bring RM32 bil in investments over the next 10 years, including investments from Proton, the nation’s car company. – April 12, 2023
Main pic credit: Automology
