Government Allocates RM100 Million For Development Of DARA And LKWJ Areas Through ECERDC

3/31/2011 — BERNAMA
The government, through the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), will allocate another RM100 million to the former areas of the Development Authority of Pahang Tenggara (DARA) and Jengka Regional Development Authority (LKWJ) for 2011-2012.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the allocation comprising RM30 million for 2011 and RM70 million for 2012, will be used for socio-economic community development, infrastructure and maintenance projects, that will benefit the local populace.
“From this year onwards, the projects will be expanded to include traditional villages,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
The principal beneficiaries of the allocation are the respective local councils within the areas, namely, Maran, Rompin, Pekan, Bera, Jerantut and Temerloh with a combined population of 659,000 residents.
In 2010, ECERDC was entrusted by the Federal government to collaborate with the Pahang state government, in reviving economic development in the former DARA and LKWJ areas.
DARA and LKWJ were dissolved in 1997 after successfully attaining their objectives of spearheading the region’s development.
Since the dissolution however, the areas were found to be in need of development and maintenance.
As of end-December 2010, all 107 projects worth RM49.5 million approved for the areas under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, have been implemented.
“The completed projects, including the upgrading of public amenities, have benefited 24,400 residents of 19 villages while the construction and upgrading of roads and the drainage system, about 28,000 residents in 26 villages,” Najib said.
He said the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) had attracted RM38 billion worth of investments as of end-February 2011, compared with RM36.5 billion as of end-November 2010.
He said the key projects in ECER such as the Agropolitan socio-economic project, Pekan Automotive Park and Gambang Halal Park are currently progressing well and ECERDC is currently intensifying its efforts to attract more investors, both local and international,to the region.