Plan For East By Year End

Aug 4 2007 (TODAY)

Abdullah says development blueprint is being drawn up by Petronas

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said the
development masterplan for the eastern region of the peninsula will be
unveiled by the year-end, according to state media.

The blueprint for the East Coast Corridor - involving Kelantan, Terengganu
and Pahang - is being drawn up by national oil company Petronas.

"Petronas has briefed the National Investment Task Force and has submitted
the document to the Economic Planning Unit implementation committee, which
I chair," Mr Abdullah said.

"Now, preparations are being made to forward it to the rulers of the three
states," he was quoted saying in Kelantan late on Thursday by the official
Bernama news agency.

On Monday, Mr Abdullah announced a RM177 billion ($77.5) Northern Corridor
Economic Region project involving Penang, Perlis, Perak and Kedah, and
targeting the agriculture, tourism, logistics and manufacturing sectors in
these rural northern states.

Development in the eastern region will focus on the petrochemical,
handicraft and tourism sectors, Mr Abdullah said.

Kelantan, which is ruled by the opposition PAS party, has been designated
as part of the East Coast Corridor and has been allocated RM7.6 billion,
the largest single allocation ever given.

Mr Abdullah has repeatedly assured the people of Kelantan of his desire to
develop the state regardless of their political preferences, reported the
New Straits Times newspaper.

The Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor was launched
earlier this year and it aims to attract US$14.5 billion ($22 billion)
over the next five years as part of an initiative to develop a new Asian
metropolis opposite Singapore. - AFP