10 POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS FOR CHUPING VALLEY
Menteri Besar Inc expects interest to translate into concrete investments this year
PERLIS’ Menteri Besar Inc (MBI) is in discussions with ten potential investors to invest in the Chuping Valley Industrial Area (CVIA) project, which is slated for completion in 2025 and will be the state’s main industrial site.
Its chief executive officer Zulkafli Ahmad said the state expected some of the investors to confirm their interests this year, and hoped that with the infrastructure ready by 2020, more investors and industries would come to the valley.
“We see serious interest among potential investors to come to CVIA, which will be the main anchor of the clusters we have in the valley,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a special briefing session on investment opportunities by states in Malaysia, organised by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) here yesterday.
CVIA, spread over 1,214.05ha, comprises Perlis Inland Port, a 202.34ha logistics hub, and a 1,011.71ha industrial area that focuses on three clusters — renewable energy generation, green manufacturing and the halal industry.
Zulkafli said the Perlis Inland Port, an integrated port using railways as the primary mode of transportation, was expected to handle about one million twenty foot equivalent units per year.
He said CVIA has great potential as a main industrial area as it was located near the Malaysia Thailand border, where it could leverage on its easy access to raw materials from Thailand and ease of export for manufactured goods using the inland port.
He said the project was expected to create about 12,500 jobs.
Meanwhile, MIDA executive director (Investment Promotion), Arham Abdul Rahman, in his speech yesterday, said while some states had continuously topped the list of recipients for investments, other states had yet to achieve their full potential.
“In line with the government’s aspiration of promoting an inclusive economy, MIDA seeks to attract investments and create jobs for locals in all states in order to develop equitable and sustainable economic growth in Malaysia,” he said.
He said Perlis was a unique state and had much to offer its visitors, in terms of both business and leisure.
In terms of investment, he said, as at 2016, 48 manufacturing projects had been implemented in Perlis with a total investment of RM1.03 billion, the majority of which came from domestic sources (RM664.5 million), or 65 per cent, while the rest were from foreign sources.
“These projects have created about 6,000 jobs, mainly in transport equipment, paper, printing and publishing, food manufacturing and plastic products, with notable companies operating in the state including Negeri Sembilan Cement Industry Sdn Bhd, Shorubber (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Covidien Japan Inc and MSM Perlis Sdn Bhd,” he said.
He said for the period between January and September last year, two manufacturing projects were approved in Perlis, with total investments of RM525 million. Bernama