PM unveils 19 entry point projects under ETP

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today announced 19 more Entry Point Projects (EPPs) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

He said the projects would generate almost RM67 billion in investments, RM36 billion in gross national income and create 35,000 new jobs.

Since the launch of ETP on Oct 25 last year, 18 EPPs have been previously announced.

In a media briefing here, the prime minister said the 19 EPPs and development projects would come from 10 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs), led by four EPPs under the oil, gas and energy NKEA.

He said ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc, together with its production sharing contract partner Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, planned to invest over RM10 billion in new oil and gas assets to help ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies for Malaysia.

This was a follow-through from the announcement of new tax incentives under the Petroleum Income Tax Act in November 2010, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

"This capital expenditure commitment will be utilised to rejuvenate mature facilities and undertake enhanced oil recovery activities in the Tapis field and the Telok gas development project," he added.

Located offshore Peninsular Malaysia, the Telok project was being developed under a gas production sharing contract to provide additional supplies for the country''s power and industrial needs and to promote organic growth of the natural gas sector, he said.

Najib said another large player in this industry, Shell Malaysia, would also be investing RM1.5 billion in multiple projects to upgrade, expand or build facilities in upstream, midstream and downstream activities across Malaysia.

"These include the expansion of the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (MDS) wax plant in Bintulu, a new diesel processing unit at the Shell Refinery in Port Dickson and the Gemusut deepwater development offshore Sabah," he said.

Further activity in this sector would see Dialog Group Bhd leading a consortium comprising the Johor government and Vopak to develop a RM5 billion independent deepwater petroleum terminal project in Pengerang, he said.

Najib said this project would have a total petroleum storage capacity of five million cubic metres and would catapult Malaysia into the ranks of a regional oil storage hub.

"I expect significant multiplier effects from the Pengerang project to cascade to the entire economy and under the ETP. It is expected to generate RM1.6 billion in gross national income by 2020," he said.

On nuclear energy, Najib said the government was studying the possibility of deploying the energy to meet future demand and diversify the energy mix for Peninsular Malaysia.

To spearhead the initiative, he announced the formation of the Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation and the appointment of Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar as its chief executive officer.

"Dr Mohd Zamzam will lead the planning based on the current development timeline of 11 to 12 years from pre-project to commissioning," Najib added.

Under the Business Services NKEA, Najib announced that MyTelehaus, CSF Group and Teliti International data centres would help Malaysia close in on the aspiration to increase sales of data centre floor space.

"With investments of over RM671 million collectively, these three organisations will develop new and upgrade existing facilities, to supply 475,000 square feet of data centre floor space to cater to the increased demand," he said.

Turning to the Healthcare NKEA, UM Holdings Sdn Bhd, a corporation wholly-owned by Universiti Malaya, would establish the Universiti Malaya Helath Metropolis in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, the Prime Minister announced.

"Integrating healthcare, bio-research and post graduate education, the project aims to elevate the standards and quality in these areas, to be among the best in the world," he said.

He also said that it is benchmarked against Havard’s Longwood Medical centre and Stanford’s Bio-X Centre, two of the global best-in-class examples.

Najib also highlighted that the RM1.25 billion, two million square feet purpose-built facility, would be developed in collaboration with 32 healthcare, academic and technology partners.

He also announced that in another project under the Healthcare NKEA, Hovid Bhd, a home-grown pharmaceutical company, had entered into a joint venture with Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis, a global pharmaceutical company.

The joint venture will manufacture and supply generic drugs for diabetes and pain management worth RM50 million over the next five years, Najib said. -- Bernama

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