IPOH: First national car manufacturer Proton Holdings Berhad will fully relocate its Shah Alam operations to Tanjung Malim by 2027, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said.
Saarani said that following this, the state government had formed a special committee, led by state Secretary Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim, to build more infrastructure in the Muallim district.
"Two days ago, I broke my fast with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and he briefed me on his meeting with the senior leaders from Proton-Geely when he visited China.
"It is indeed that Proton-Geely will have additional investment in Malaysia, specifically in Proton City and future investments are expected to go up to RM32 billion.
"Once Proton has fully relocated its operation from Shah Alam to Proton City by 2027, all its operations including vendors will be moved too," he told reporters distributing Hari Raya goodies to uniformed personnel at Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan here today.
Saarani said that due to this additional investment in Proton City, the committee had held a meeting to see how the state government could provide the infrastructure in the district.
"We need to provide more space or area for this industry and we need to consider the number of vendors coming in too. At the same time, we must be prepared to accept the volume of workers coming in.
"This includes housing and we have talked about the matter with Perak Housing and Property Board and they have gone there to see how we want to provide adequate homes and schools," he said.
On the school infrastructure, Saarani said that the state government had discussed with the Education Ministry and they would come out with budgets to build schools and provide more teachers here.
"There are about 7,000 Proton workers and we estimate that 21,000 people including their families will be moving here. That is why we need ample schools," he said.
It was reported that a total of RM170.07 billion worth of investment commitments was received as a result of the prime minister and Malaysian delegation's visit to China, which is the highest amount ever achieved.
Malaysia and China also agreed to explore new areas of cooperation including new-generation car manufacturing through the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV) project, as well as the halal industry.
The AHTV project involving a collaboration between DRB-HICOM Bhd, which represents Malaysia and the Chinese company Geely, is expected to bring RM32 billion in investments for the next 10 years, including investments from the national car company Proton.
The mega project, involving an estimated 404.69ha area to be developed as a next-generation vehicle hub in Tanjong Malim in Perak, will create tens of thousands of job opportunities for local youths.