PERAK WANTS KIGIP COMPLETED BY 2028 - SAARANI

TAIPING, March 1 (Bernama) -- The Perak government has expressed its hope that the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP) development can be completed within the stipulated timeframe, by the end of 2028.

Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said this while acknowledging several challenges facing the implementation of the project, particularly the need to reclaim swampy land in the area.

"And recently I was informed that they (developer) will also collaborate with Gamuda Berhad which has expertise in land reclamation techniques, including water drainage methods similar to those used in the Netherlands," he told reporters after opening the Green Excel Manufacturing Sdn Bhd factory in Kamunting near here today.   

Saarani expressed confidence that this collaboration would help resolve the swamp issue and accelerate the land reclamation process for the project.

According to Saarani, the KIGIP project is under the supervision and monitoring of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and the state government has facilitated the process in terms of land and the approval of Planning Permission (KM).

Saarani said it was now up to SD Guthrie Berhad to accelerate the project's progress, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has emphasised that it must be completed by the end of 2028.

"This means they need to expedite the process, regardless of the challenges, they must move quickly. By 2028, the project should be completed, and in 2029, it will open to investors,” he said.

In another development, he expressed hope that the water transfer from Perak River would involve a northern water treatment plant as the transferred water is not only for agriculture and supplying Penang, but also crucial for KIGIP.

 This is because factories related to the electrical and electronic (E&E) sector need water resources, he added.

-- BERNAMA