KUANTAN, PAHANG, 6 SEPTEMBER 2016 – The Ganchong Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Pekan is expected to be fully completed and begin operations by March 2017, delivering clean treated water for industrial, commercial and domestic use in Peramu, Pahang Tua and Kuala Pahang.
The plant, which is currently 85% completed, will have a production capacity of 80 million litres per day (MLD) of treated water. It is expected to sufficiently cater to the needs of industries and consumers in the region for the next ten years until 2025. The demand for water has been growing very significantly over the years due to the robust development experienced in this region.
“The current supply of treated water is insufficient to meet the rising demand for industrial areas in Peramu, Pahang Tua and Kuala Pahang. In 2015, the demand in these areas were estimated at 47.67MLD; whereas the current capacity served by existing Treatment Plants in Peramu and Sekor were only 20.25MLD and 19.68MLD respectively. Hence, commencement of the Ganchong WTP operation in 2017 will solve the current problem of inadequate water supply and help generate greater prospects on new industrial activities within the localities” said YBhg. Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John, Chief Executive Officer of ECERDC after the ECER Implementation and Coordination (ICC) Pahang meeting today.
The progress of the Ganchong water treatment plant was presented in the meeting chaired by Pahang Menteri Besar, YAB Dato’ Sri Diraja Haji Adnan bin Haji Yaakob.
On top of this, the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) and the Pahang State Government have also put in place plans to further expand Ganchong WTP and double its production capacity to 160MLD. This will further extend water supply to existing and upcoming developments in Rompin and Nenasi by 2018.
“Over the years, Pahang has experienced robust socio-economic growth, bringing in more investors, industries and people into the ECER. Certainly, this has led to a huge increase in demand for treated water to cater to the needs of industries as well as to the growth of existing and new development areas,” Datuk Seri Issace added.
The Ganchong WTP, which is one of the key infrastructure projects in the region under the 10th Malaysia Plan (RMK10), will serve as a catalyst to facilitate greater investments and development which in turn will benefit the Rakyat by improving their economic opportunities and livelihood.
STRONG INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
On the investment front, as at July 2016, Pahang has continued to successfully attract investors into the state, generating RM47.7 billion in investments, which in turn created more than 48,325 job opportunities for the Rakyat. This is the outcome of the Federal government’s strategic infrastructure, high impact projects and programmes through ECERDC to drive investment into Pahang, create more jobs and uplift the people’s standard of living.
The four industrial parks in the state namely Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), Gambang Halal Industrial Park, Pekan Automotive Park and Kuantan Integrated Biopark, have continued to be the key investment drivers. Collectively, these industrial parks have received investments amounting to RM12.5 billion that had been approved for the period between 2007 and July 2016, which in turn is expected to create 13,760 job opportunities. Leading the pack is MCKIP which has to date attracted close to RM11.1 billion in investments that had been approved, creating 12,415 job opportunities for the Rakyat.
Meanwhile, in the tourism sector, amongst some of the new investments approved recently totalling RM61.6 million include the building of a new four-star resort hotel in Kuala Rompin by Lanjut Golf Sdn Bhd and a new hotel in Kuantan by Skytree Hotel Sdn. Bhd. These two new developments are projected to create close to 200 new job opportunities.
The Bumiputera SME sector has also played a key role in investment growth, reflecting the enhanced Bumiputera participation in the local economy. To date, 35 Bumiputera companies from Pahang have benefitted from the various incentives put in place by the ECERDC through the TERAJU@ECER programme. Approved investments from these companies amounted to RM6.88 billion and is expected to create 3,841 job opportunities. With the establishment of the Dana Mudahcara TERAJU@ECER between 2012 and July 2016, 14 projects have been accepted, with investments amounting to RM358.4 million, focused mainly in the manufacturing and services sectors.
INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PAHANG
In line with Malaysia’s new economic model which gives equal emphasis to both capital economy and people economy, the ECERDC has continued its human capital development programmes focused on the Below 40% household income group (B40).
To date, about 34,638 people have benefitted including the 7,460 micro entrepreneurs nurtured through the human capital development programme. These entrepreneurs in turn have generated in excess of 10,444 new job opportunities for the local communities, showcasing the spill-over benefits of such human capital development initiatives.
More recently, 12 entrepreneurs have also been given the opportunity to set up their businesses at the Kompleks Hasil Laut and Medan Ikan Bakar in Kuala Pahang. The project which was completed in April 2016, is scheduled to commence operations in October 2016.
ECERDC is also working with FELDA to ensure that the Agropolitan projects continue to support the local economy, while continuing with the various development projects at the six districts that were formerly under the Lembaga Kemajuan Pahang Tenggara (DARA) and Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah Jengka (LKWJ) areas.
“We will continue to implement high impact and game-changing infrastructure projects in Pahang under the 11th Malaysia Plan to ensure that we attract the right investments and talent into the ECER. Our ultimate aim is to transform the ECER’s socio-economy in line with the National Transformation Policy or NTP,” concluded Datuk Seri Issace.
