KOTA KINABALU: The final proposal to develop Sabah's first Free Zone (FZ) in the east coast will be presented to the state government soon.
This was revealed at a dialogue between the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC) and state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd here yesterday.
POIC Sabah is the developer of the POIC Lahad Datu industrial park and port (formerly known as Lahad Datu Palm Oil Industrial Cluster).
MCBC chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Seng and his delegation were on a return visit to Sabah to attend the meeting with the POIC Sabah management team headed by its chairman Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee and chief executive officer Datuk Fredian Gan.
State Industrial Development Ministry permanent secretary Thomas Logijin and directors of Matrade and Mida Sabah were also present.
Tiong, who is also the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to China, last met with POIC Sabah officials in March 2021.
During that visit, he proposed to POIC to set up a Free Industrial Zone in Lahad Datu industrial park to boost up investment, which in turn, MCBC will help in the promotion and facilitation with China investors.
Fredian told the delegation that POIC Sabah is tabling a final proposal to the Sabah Cabinet for the state to apply for a FZ licence from federal authorities.
It envisages the development of more than 1,000 acres of coastal land not far from POIC's port facilities for the pioneer project.
The FZ is in line with POIC Sabah's plan to develop Sabah's east coast into a logistics hub of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) leveraging on its strategic location along the Lombok-Makassar shipping route.
Fredian said POIC Sabah appreciated Tiong's support and sharing of his experience in the implementation of the other Klang Free Zone projects as well as what he learnt from dealing with key persons behind Dubai's massive Free Trade Zone project.
Tiong had helped to raise the issue in getting approval from the federal government for the establishment of FZ in POIC Lahad Datu.
He also played a role in bridging a collaboration between POIC Sabah and China Construction Bank (CCB) that led to the signing of a Strategic Collaboration Agreement on April 8, 2022.
Tiong hailed the idea of building an international airport, a maritime academy and a transportation hub in Lahad Datu, stressing that connectivity was vital to promoting trading and link-up to markets.
A FZ is a special economic zone where goods may be imported, stored, handled, processed, and repacked reconfigured and reexported under special customs regulation and generally not subject to customs duty.