Company Stands To Gain..IJM? Wzsatu? Gamuda? Ahmad Zaki? Anymore?

The East Coast Economic Region Master Plan 2.0 (2018-2025) (EMP 2.0) aims to attract RM70 billion in new private investments, and create 120,000 new jobs and 60,000 entrepreneurial opportunities for Malaysians.

The master plan, which was launched by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) yesterday, aims to accelerate the next leap of the region’s socio-economic transformation, narrowing the regional imbalance and enhancing the well-being of the people.

Themed “The Next Leap”, it outlines key strategies, high-impact projects and inclusive people-centric programmes to be implemented in the region to sustain its transformation into a distinctive, dynamic and competitive region by 2025.

“The launch of the EMP 2.0 is indeed a historic milestone. Capitalising on the solid foundation built on the back of the region’s socio-economic successes over the last 10 years, the EMP 2.0 was developed with the rakyat’s well-being at its heart.

“Through the delivery of high-impact projects and programmes, the Rakyat will continue to benefit through the inclusive and equitable opportunities to uplift their quality of life through the jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities created in the Region,” ECERDC CEO Baidzawi Che Mat said in a statement today.

EMP 2.0 will emphasise on six strategic initiatives namely increasing labour productivity; diversifying economic bases; facilitating economies of scale; mobilising the labour force; leveraging connectivity; and enhancing enabling infrastructure such as ICT broadband connectivity.

Greater emphasis will be given to accelerate the region’s readiness for Industry 4.0, given the importance of the digital platform in shaping economies and driving innovations worldwide.

To kick start this initiative, ECERDC has partnered with Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) to establish the Asia Center of Excellence for Smart Technologies (ACES) at the Pahang Technology Park (PTP)’s Cybercentre.

Meanwhile, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the expansion of Kuantan Port in Pahang are expected to facilitate further investments and improve mobility of goods and people.

ECERDC has also identified a new key driver namely logistics and trade facilitation, which will enhance the region’s overall competitiveness by identifying, aggregating and addressing supply chain issues for the region’s existing economic drivers including manufacturing; oil, gas and petrochemicals; tourism and agribusiness sectors.

The ECER has undergone a socio-economic transformation over the last 10 years and achieved its 2020 investment target of RM110 billion three years ahead of schedule.

To date, the total private investment in ECER stands at RM115.6 billion with 164,500 job opportunities created and around 38,000 entrepreneurs developed.