BACHOK, Feb 13 — The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) will be focusing on the development of infrastructure, investment and human capital to improve the economic region’s productivity by 2025.
Chief executive officer Baidzawi Che Mat said ECER is now in its next phase of growth with the implementation of the ECER Master Plan 2.0 that puts Industry 4.0 as its main thrust.
“In Kelantan, for example, a few high-impact projects have been completed including the IMT-GT in Bukit Bunga, Jeli. This will create a multiplier effect on the local community due to its strategic location near the Malaysia-Thailand border especially in spurring trade and tourism,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters at the Empower ECER Kelantan convocation and awards ceremony at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan here today officiated by Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob.
At the event, 18 participants won the Empower ECER Entrepreneurship Award in recognition of their achievement in business while 32 students who excelled in their UPSR examinations received the Empower ECER Champion Award.
Meanwhile, Ahmad said the programme developed by ECER has benefited many people especially women and youth.
“We welcome all the effort that has been made by ECER, and we are willing to collaborate with them including in matters related to land that they want to develop for the purpose of empowering the people’s economy,” he said.
More than 25,000 participants in Kelantan have benefited from the Empower ECER programme since it was launched in the state in 2013, and the majority are from the B40 group.
Of the 4,738 participants last year, 910 have become entrepreneurs, with a monthly income of between RM1,000 and RM10,000. — Bernama
