KUALA NERUS, Feb 11 — The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) says its implementation of the integrated development model with the cooperation of the Terengganu state government secured committed investments worth RM700 million last year.
Chief executive officer Baidzawi Che Mat said 54 per cent of the committed investments was in the rapidly growing agriculture sector, followed by manufacturing (24 per cent) and tourism (22 per cent).
He noted in a statement today that the state is now an attractive investment destinaton for domestic and local investors, creating jobs for locals aand bsusness oppportunities for local communities.
Baidzawi had earlier attended an ECER Implementation and Coordiantion 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 billion worth of investments in ECERDC 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 investment 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 downtream marine sector around Pulau Duyong, he noted, adding efforts will be stepped up in order to attract investments worth RM70 billion to the ECER by 2025 as outlined in the ECER Master Plan 2.0.
Of the RM70 billion, Terengganu is expected to attract investments worth RM26 billion that would create 36,600 jobs and 15,550 entrepreneurs by 2025.
“We will continue to work together with Terengganu state agencies, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Petronas to attract private investments that can create quality jobs for local residents, besides boosting the potential of this region as an attractive and dynamic investment destination,” he added. — Bernama
