Farizul Hafiz Awang
KUANTAN: The Pahang Barat Plus economic region, focusing on boosting the economic growth in the western part of the state, is projected to reach its full potential in the next five years.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail dismissed talks that the development of Pahang Barat Plus has stagnated or progressed at a snail's pace saying it is just a matter of time for the districts in the west side to enjoy economic growth similar to the east side of the state.
"This is normal in the beginning stages as there are many things that have to be looked into and scrutinised before it begins to display progress(peak).
He added that Pahang Barat Plus will reach its full potential in the next three to five years.
"We already have industrial areas in the west side of Pahang...for example in Kechau Tui, Lipis where an ammunition factory will be built and the land has been approved but time is needed (to build a factory).
"The high-scale Wagyu cattle and poultry farming project for meat and dairy products in Lipis will be expedited," he told reporters after launching the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) 15th anniversary here today.
Wan Rosdy reaffirmed that Pahang Barat Plus will not be sidelined in a move to help ensure a balanced development between the east and west side of the state.
In 2021, the ECERDC set its sights to boost economic growth in the western part of Pahang , involving Bentong, Cameron Highlands, Raub and Lipis along with Jerantut and Bera but to date, there has been little information on the progress.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy lauded the programmes and initiatives by ECERDC which saw Pahang becoming among the four states to outperform the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth surpassing the national average last year.
"Pahang was ranked in third place after Penang and Selangor where it outperformed the national growth rate in 2022. This is partly contributed by ECERDC.....I hope ECERDC will not remain complacent with their performance over the past 15 years but explore more value-added contributions to ensure ECER remains a competitive investment destination," he said.
On June 27, the Department of Statistics Malaysia, in a statement said, four states outperformed the country's GDP growth surpassing the national average in 2022.
In his speech earlier, Wan Rosdy said since its establishment in 2008, ECERDC has successfully attracted RM162.3 billion in committed investments, with nearly RM80 billion investment realised to-date.
Meanwhile, ECERDC chief executive officer Datuk Baidzawi Che Mat said ECERDC is actively pursuing investments in new sectors such as the growing recreational vehicles (RVs) market, both in RV manufacturing and RV parks.
"Pahang is only two to three hours away from the central business districts in the west coast. The completion of the East Coast Rail Line in 2027 will bring ECER, particularly Pahang even closer than ever," he said in his speech.