KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 25 — The Terengganu state government has set aside a special allocation of RM30 million to manage and develop Lake Kenyir next year.

Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the decision was apt as the lake was one of the major tourist attractions in the state thanks to its natural beauty and the diversity of flora and fauna.

"In 2017, a total of 808,336 tourists visited Lake Kenyir, so to encourage more tourists coming here, a total of RM30 million is allocated next year.

"In addition, the state government will also upgrade the connecting routes to resort islands with an allocation of RM3 million, in line with the Master Plan to Develop Islands and Marine Parks in Terengganu,” he said tabling the state’s 2019 Budget at the 14th State Assembly here, today.

Lake Kenyir, located in the Hulu Terengganu area, is the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia measuring about 38,000 hectares.

Ahmad Samsuri also announced an allocation of RM9.5 million for the management and development of Pulau Bidong as a state heritage island.

An allocation of RM2 million was also set to maintain and beautify tourism sites throughout the state, besides RM4 million for organising initiatives under the Clean and Beautiful Terengganu Programme 2019.

The Terengganu Budget 2019, themed ‘Blessed State, Prosperous People’, also included RM1.745 billion in oil and gas royalties as non-revenue receipts.

Ahmad Samsuri said this was based on the Federal government’s commitment to channel the royalties directly to coffers of the oil and gas producing states.

"We are holding on to the commitment of the Federal government and have so far received part of the royalty (for 2018) amounting to RM300 million,” he said.

Ahmad Samsuri said the remaining royalty amount expected by the state government for 2018 was between RM400 million and RM500 million.

"The calculation is done by Petronas based on several aspects such as total production and volatility in oil prices before being submitted to the Treasury. We hope the balance of payment will be expedited by Dec 31 this year,” he added. — Bernama