MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has launched a development project worth nearly US$100 billion to fuel growth in resource-rich Sarawak.Abdullah said the government would spend an initial RM5 billion (US$1.54 billion) to kickstart the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy, with private investment targeted at RM300 billion (US$93 billion).The Sarawak plan — the last of five regional economic blueprints being rolled out — focuses on developing the state’s energy resources of hydropower, coal, natural gas and petroleum.“The development, distribution and consumption of energy is a core element leading to the success of the Sarawak Corridor,” Abdullah said at the launch.The premier said the project aims to bring economic growth and eradicate poverty in the predominantly rural state by 2030, by creating some 800,000 jobs and luring billons in private investment.“It’s not going to be less than RM300 billion (ringgit). It’s a huge amount but it involves large developments in various fields ... in Sarawak, which is a very large (state),” he said. Read More
(New Straits Times 12-2-2008)
