Maritime hub to give project a boost
Ambitious MVV venture will be tweaked and finally kickstarted near Melaka
SEREMBAN: Negri Sembilan plans to set up a maritime hub at its southern border with Melaka and an aviation facility near its northern border with Selangor to kickstart the ambitious Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV) project.
The project, spread over a 124,000ha site – which was supposed to have been launched in 2015 – would be tweaked so that it would become a world-class metropolis, said state Investment, Industrialisation, Entrepreneur- ship, Education and Human Capital Committee chairman Dr Mohamad Rafie Ab Malek.
“It was initially planned for 2015 to 2045 but we have yet to see it taking off. The new state administration will give the MVV a new lease of life and make it more inclusive,” he said at the state assembly.
He said the new administration would also be briefed on the comprehensive plan by MVV Holdings Bhd which would then be put up for public display.
Straddling the districts of Seremban, Nilai and Port Dickson, the MVV, which was mooted by the pre- vious Barisan Nasional administration, will be led by the private sector.
It is projected to have a gross development value of RM640bil over 30 years.
The project, which will be divided into five clusters – Central Business District covering Seremban, Ampangan and Rasah; Nature City (Pantai and Lenggeng); Edu-Tech Valley (Labu and Setul); Wellness, Eco and Agro Tourism (Port Dickson, Kuantan, Linggi, Sirusa); and New Liveable Township (Jimah) – is expected to create some 1.3 million jobs.
Dr Mohamad Rafie said the move to set up a maritime hub was viable as it would complement a similar hub in Kuala Linggi, Melaka.
“The hub will include providing ship-to-ship transfer services,” he said.
On the proposed aviation hub, he said the state government was already in talks with Airbus to either build a final assembly line or a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility.
“This will be located near the KL International Airport.
“Airbus has also commissioned a feasibility study of the aviation hub and is considering it favourably,” he said.
If Airbus goes ahead with the plan, he said this would be its fifth facility worldwide after its headquarters in France, Germany, China and the United States.
“Once we have anchor companies in the MVV, we will be able to attract more support industries,” he said.
Dr Mohamad Rafie said the first phase of the MVV project would kick off in Nilai with the development of a high-technology park followed by projects in Labu and Port Dickson.