ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is expected to increase household income in the state to RM13,000 per month.
Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, said the expectation was outlined by the Johor government to detail the macro targets and indicators to be achieved through the development of JS-SEZ.
He said the state government is confident that the establishment of the JS-SEZ would boost the state's economy and improve the standard of living.
Therefore, he said, the state government has outlined three macro targets and indicators to be achieved through the development of JS-SEZ where it can serve as a catalyst to the success of the Maju Johor 2030 agenda.
"Firstly, the state government aims for JS-SEZ to be able to achieve a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value of RM260 billion through an annual growth of seven per cent.
"Secondly, the state government aims to increase household income to RM13,000 per month taking into account the economic spillover brought in.
"Thirdly, the development of the JS-SEZ is also expected to create 400,000 new high-income job opportunities in the state," he said.
He said this when answering questions at the state legislative assembly sitting at the Sultan Ismail Building, here today.
Earlier, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz (Muda-Puteri Wangsa) had asked the state government to explain its plan to attract foreign direct investment to Johor in addition to the government's plan to ensure that the benefits of JS-SEZ spills over to other districts in Johor.
Onn Hafiz said Johor will emulate the success of the Shenzhen economic zone in China.
He said, this was following the state government's working visit to Shenzhen last March to learn how the region had changed from a fishing village to becoming one of China's main economies contributing a GDP of RMB 3.46 trillion last year.
"During the visit to Shenzen, we held a business session with more than 40 potential investor companies in the region.
"They gave positive feedback and had enough confidence to come and invest in Johor.
"This confidence is based on factors including Johor's very strategic geographical position and the availability of land for various economic sectors.
"In addition, Johor also has good infrastructure including ports, airports, road networks and utilities, even the cost of doing business involves the cost of land and competitive human resources in addition to political stability," he said.