Plan to turn Labuan industrial area into international tourism hub

LABUAN: The 80 hectares (ha) at the waterfront RanchaRancha industrial area here is being eyed for development as a tourism hub.

Member of Parliament for Labuan, Datuk Rozman Isli, said the land, which has yet to be reclaimed, was in the process of being bought over by a listed company, ENRA Group Bhd, through its unit, ENRA Labuan Sdn Bhd.

“The area was initially planned for oil and gas industrial development but we were made to understand that the plan has been changed to tourism development,” he said to reporters before launching the Red Onion Pizza and Pasta delivery service here yesterday.

He said the project was also in line with the government’s aspiration of turning Labuan into another attractive tourism hub.

Rozman said the group planned to turn the area into a cruise terminal to serve major cities in the region.

ENRA Group, in a filing to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Wednesday, said the buying of the first parcel of 24.28-ha of leasehold land for RM7.57 million from Labuan Corp was aimed to increase its landbank for property development.

ENRA Labuan signed the deal with Labuan Corp with a call option to purchase an additional 56.65ha, it said.

“The purchase price for the second parcel shall be the market value of the parcel at the time the call option is exercised by ENRA Labuan, plus a premium of 20 per cent,” ENRA Group said.

It said the first parcel was strategically located adjacent to the Rancha-Rancha Industrial Estate and would benefit from the federal government’s plans to transform Labuan into a premier tourist destination and low cost carrier hub for East Asia.

“The recently reported federal government approval of RM170 million for the construction of a coastal road project in Labuan will also improve Labuan’s connectivity, and pave the way for new commercial and tourism development in surrounding areas,” it said. - Bernama