JOHOR BAHRU, April 17 (Bernama) -- Close collaboration between agencies of the federal government and the Johor state government has helped create almost 88,000 jobs in the state over the last five years.
  
"Many of these are high-skilled, knowledge-intensive jobs -- exactly the kind of employment opportunities that can help us achieve our aspiration to become a high-income nation by 2020," said International Trade and Industry Minister Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed.
 
He said that MITI and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), which operates under MITI's aegis, will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities at both Federal and State levels to ensure the implementation of approved projects and maintain the momentum of Johor's economic expansion and job creation. 
 
Dato' Sri Mustapa had earlier jointly chaired the Jawatankuasa Bersama Penyelarasan Industri (JBI) with Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Chief Minister of Johor.  Also present were Encik Isham Ishak, Deputy Secretary General of MITI, Dato’ Azman Mahmud, CEO of MIDA, Dato Dzulkifli Mahmud, CEO of Matrade and Dato Hafsah Hashim, CEO of SME Corp.
  
For the past five years, out of the total approved manufacturing projects in Johor worth RM78.8 billion, 720 projects or 81.4% have been implemented. Domestic sources contributed 63% or RM33.9 billion of these investments, while the rest were from foreign sources. These investments were mainly in Petroleum including Petrochemical products, Electrical & Electronic products, Food products, Transport Equipment and Fabricated Metal Products. 
  
“This success rate in implementation is largely the result of the strong co-operation between MIDA and state agencies such as the Johor Economic Planning Unit (UPENJ), Johor State Investment Centre (JSIC) and local authorities,” said Dato' Sri Mustapa. 
 
Earlier today, the Minister visited the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) for an update on the progress of the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project. “PIC is a game changer for the oil and gas industry. I am happy with the progress of RAPID since my last visit 3 years ago. We trust that this project will help Malaysia to capitalise on the growing need for energy and commodity petrochemical products in Asia in the next 20 years," he said. 
 
"MITI and MIDA are working closely with PETRONAS to identify key petrochemical players that can be invited to participate in the downstream projects in Pengerang. As to date, MIDA has approved 5 projects under RAPID amounting to RM39.73 billion. Upon the operations of PIC, more than 4,000 employment opportunities will be created for the country,” said Dato' Sri Mustapa. 
  
After the JBI Meeting, the Minister and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled witnessed an exchange of documents involving land-leasing arrangements between Johor Corporation and four companies: Amity Energy Pte. Ltd., Musim Mas Group, Johor Port Berhad and Steinweg Handelsveem B.V. 
 
“Additional investments from these four companies demonstrate that Malaysia continues to be a preferred investment destination in the region despite the global economic turbulence," Dato' Sri Mustapa said.
 
Amity Energy, a Singapore-based developer of oil and gas storage terminals and other assets, plans to build and operate a Refrigerated Liquefied Petroleum Gas (RLPG) Terminal and a 500,000 cubic metre storage terminal for petroleum products such as Fuel Oil, Gas Oil, Naphta and Gasoline.  A total of 1,960 employment opportunities will be created over the two phases of the project that will be completed by 2018 and 2019.
  
Musim Mas Group, one of the largest oil palm producers in the world, has made an additional investment to develop and operate a fully integrated Palm Oil Hub in Tanjung Langsat with  investments estimated at RM350 – RM400 million. Since 2014, its subsidiary Musim Mastika Oils and Fats has been operating a RM250 million palm oil refinery and fractionation plant in Tanjung Langsat. It has a current capacity of processing 1,800 metric tonne per day of crude palm oil (CPO). 
  
Johor Port, as the Southern Gateway Multipurpose Port in Malaysia, is the first multipurpose port in Johor designed to cater to practically all types of cargo. The company plans to develop and operate Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex (TLIC) Cargo Consolidation Centre which will act as the Export Processing Zone for all containerised cargo from TLIC, providing a one stop logistic solution. The project, with total investments of RM150 million, is expected to create 60 job opportunities for Malaysians. 
 
Steinweg, one of the largest logistics players in the world specialising in commodities, chemicals and plastics, currently plans to develop a Natural Resources and Commodities Hub. This hub will serve the increasing market demand for an international distribution hub of commodities, chemicals and base metal. This project, valued at RM546 million, will be located on a 48.2 acre piece of land.

Source : Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
 
For more information, please contact:

Name : Zukepli Embong
Director, Domestic Investment Division
Tel : 03-22632444    
Email : zukepli@mida.gov.my

--BERNAMA