THE Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV) leverages on urban and more developed areas in Negri Sembilan, said its master planner, Norliza Hashim.
Norliza, who, along with Lawrence A. Chan, were tasked to develop the MVV blueprint, said the idea of a comprehensive development plan was to identify drivers for growth, economically and socially, and at the same time, protect the environment.
In the development of the blueprint, Norliza said, three aspects, namely economy, inclusiveness and the environment were key factors.
“We are not taking the whole of Negri Sembilan to be developed. The development involves the districts of Seremban and Port Dickson.
“The state had decided the districts of Jelebu and Kuala Pilah would be protected to take care of the agricultural sector and food production for the state.
“There is still a lot of balance in terms of the overall state strategy,” she said yesterday.
Norliza said more than 70 per cent of the population were living in these areas, and most of the industries are located there. She said Port Dickson was already a tourist destination.
“Of course, we do not want to introduce infrastructure or growth in a very green area, so we are leveraging on urban areas. Hence, out of all places in Negri Sembilan, these two are more developed,” she said.
Norliza said the focus was on tourism itself to ensure higher yields as the market in Port Dickson was domestic, with a very small segment of the international market.
Another area they were looking at, Norliza said, was the manufacturing sector, which made
up 43 per cent of the total economic sector.
“In the long term, we are looking at higher value industries.
“We are looking at green technology, which will be MVV’s game changer.
“Not many regions are focusing on green and clean technology. Going into clean energy, you can see how it can solve problems for some of the environment issues we have in the long run.
“Clean technology is good because it is generic and can fit into a lot of segments,” she said.
It was reported that the 30-year development project had the capacity to attract more
than RM296 billion in investment, besides creating 1.38 million jobs.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who announced this after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sime Darby Property Bhd, Brunsfield Development Sdn Bhd and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan at his office in Putrajaya, said the 153,000ha development, among others, focused on providing affordable homes with well-planned and orderly facilities.
“MVV will provide more than 400ha of affordable housing, and more than 400ha of public facilities and recreational areas with green spaces,” Najib was quoted as saying.
Najib had also said the project was spearheaded by the private sector and supported by the Federal Government as well as the Negri Sembilan government.