KUALA LUMPUR: Labuan is set to see its economy being significantly revived by the second half of this year, a result of a sweeping overhaul of the way the island city has long operated.
In a grand plan that will see Labuan being transformed from a dead city since the recent oil and gas industry collapse to one of Asean's top tourist hotspots, private investments are set to be the key to drive the city's economic growth.
Korea's largest property developer Donggwang Clark Corp as wel as Malaysia's Berjaya Corp Bhd, Shin Yang Shipping Corp Bhd and Nam Cheong Ltd are among the household names that have agreed to be part of Labuan Corp's masterplan.
Labuan Corp chairman Datuk Seri Amir Hussein said Labuan's economy will be driven mainly by the private sector, which among other things will help boost retail sales to RM1.8 billion over the next three years as larger number of tourists is expected to flock into the island city.
As such, he said Labuan welcomes more private investments, a great opportunity for investors to reap future benefits as the economy develops.
"We will turn to tourists in our plans to transform Labuan because the population is not enough to support the economy. The first phase of the masterplan will be rolled out by the second half of this year, all will be done in one go to expedite the process of developing Labuan.
"Therefore, we expect to see some revival in the economy beginning August onwards," Amir said in an interview with the New Straits Times recently.
"We have received proposals from more than 70 different investors. We promise to give the necessary supports to investors that can help us drive Labuan's economy," he added.
Labuan's economy, which had been dependent on oil and gas, was hit by the industry's fall that began in 2014.
Amir said since then, international oil and gas service providers stationed in Labuan had to make the tough decision, cutting about 20,000 staffs in total.
As all these staffs left the city, the population in Labuan dropped to about 80,000 currently, insufficient to drive the economy.
Now turning its focus on tourism, Amir said Labuan aims to receive at least 28,000 tourists monthly leveraging on its startegic location in the center point surrounded by countries like China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei and Indochina.
"It is achievable as our neighbour, Sabah receives about 280,000 tourists monthly. Our target is only 10 per cent of the total number of tourists that come to Sabah.
"The challenge is now to accommodate these tourists and that is why we work so hard to build an ecosystem that works. One of them is to increase the hotel supplies," he said.
Amir said some investments from the private sector will boost the number of hotel supplies.
He said Donggwang Clark Corp, which transformed former United States military base in Clark free port zone in Pampanga, Philippines into a world class golf course, has submitted a proposal to long-term lease a golf course in Labuan.
The developer aims to do the same it did in the Pampanga for the golf course in Labuan, which will see the new course layout surrounded by hotels and a duty-free shopping mall.
Another notable investment into Labuan would be from Berjaya Corp, which is expected to build a high end resort in the city, he added.
"This will help drive and change Labuan's economic landscape in the near future," Amir said.
Other than that, Amir said Labuan Corp was finalising its plan to upgrade its Jetty by this year.
This would enable luxury cruises, with the likes Genting Bhd's, to stop over in Labuan once the jetty in the island is being upgraded.