STATE GOVTS MUST BE MORE PROACTIVE IN IMPLEMENTING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS - PLANMALAYSIA

SEREMBAN, May 8 (Bernama) -- Relevant parties, including the state governments, have been urged to take more proactive steps in implementing development projects to further enhance the socio-economic growth of the local community and attract investment.

Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) director-general Datuk Dr Alias Rameli said this included the container port project in Port Dickson and the southern stretches of the West Coast Expressway (WCE), involving Banting in Selangor, as well as Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.

“I personally asked the Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar (Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun) and the Melaka Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh) to take the lead in reviving the WCE, as access to main infrastructure is a key factor in attracting investors.

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“Travelling from the North-South Expressway to Melaka City takes around one and a half hours, with more than 20 traffic lights to pass through. The same goes for Negeri Sembilan; without a proper road network, the journey is quite long,” he told reporters after the launch of the Negeri Sembilan 2040 Structural Planning Study here today.

Alias said that in line with the development of the WCE, the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project in the affected states should also be revived to help ease congestion on the highway.

He said that while the project could be costly, it would provide long-term benefits to the states involved, including Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Kuala Lumpur.

“This is part of the draft structural plan document. The country must transition to a long-term perspective with strategic policies on socio-economic and land use planning,” he said.

--BERNAMA