KOTA KINABALU: Indonesia’s plan for a new national capital in eastern Kalimantan is taking off soon and Sabah is on board with it.
Sabah and Indonesia have had trade and other dealings with each other all this while, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, adding that the new development would further strengthen their ties and benefit both places.
“The shift of Indonesia’s capital city will provide more economic and trade opportunities for Sabah and Kalimantan.
“We already have good relations with Indonesia – for example, through the BIMP-EAGA – but this will benefit us both even more,” he added.
The Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) was established in 1994 to spur development in remote and less-developed areas in participating countries.
Indonesia announced on Monday that its new capital in eastern Kalimantan island would be named Nusantara, which means archipelago.
The construction of the new capital was to begin in 2020, but the plan was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, a Bloomberg report about two months ago stated that Indonesia is moving ahead with the plan to relocate its capital in the first half of 2024.
Yesterday, Hajiji was at the Sabah International Convention Centre to witness the signing of memoranda of understanding between the state government and three companies.
The companies were Borneomed Sdn Bhd (large-scale herb planting), SBH Kibing Solar New Materials (M) Sdn Bhd and Pavilion Kota Kinabalu Sdn Bhd (for the development of a Pavilion Harbour City).
He said the signing of these MOUs would further boost Sabah’s economy and provide job opportunities.
Using the Pavilion Harbour City project as an example, he said it was expected to create some 4,000 jobs and attract investments totalling RM2bil to RM3bil.
“The other projects would also see hundreds of job opportunities created for locals when they start within the next few years,” he added.