RM2.5bil project not in Sipadan

KOTA KINABALU: Sipadan island, the world famous diving spot off the coast of Sabah, is safe from any intrusive and environmentally damaging development at least for now.

Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) clarified this week that a RM2.5 billion foreign-funded tourism development project did not include the island.

After the proposed project was revealed last week, it received a storm of criticism and the Sedia issued a statement assuring the public that it would have no direct bearing on the island.

The clarification comes after a meeting last week between state government officials and Chinese investors of the project which seemed to have gained tentative approval of the state government.

In a bid to quell criticism, Sedia said the project with Chinese firm Diving Best is “an expansion of the existing Sipadan Mangrove Resort (SMR), an Entry Point Project (EPP) listed under the Regional Cities and Corridors programme with an investment of RM491 million is expected to generate RM114.9 million in GNI in 2020”.

The collaboration between Diving Best and SMR is the result of successfully matching the China investors with a local business partner, said Sedia.

The location of the proposed project was on 280 acres of private land belonging to SMR. It was chosen for its proximity to Sipadan Island which is 35 minutes away by speedboat, it added.

The agency also said it recognised the significance of preserving Sipadan Island and regrets any confusion that was caused by its previous statement.

Encouraging response

The multi-billion ringgit Chinese-funded project falls under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) blueprint which is managed by Sedia.

But critics warn that the aggressive drive by Sedia to attract investment into Sabah can give individuals with access to non-public information in such government-sponsored deals.

This is especially important since to further increase investor interest in the SDC, the Finance Ministry has also approved a tax incentive package for the SDC.

The investment tax incentive package cover activities such as those in the tourism sector, manufacturing, agriculture, and major industries located within the Strategic Development Areas of the SDC. These tax incentives are applicable for applications received by Sedia until Dec 31, 2020.

Sedia said the response from local and foreign trade missions had been encouraging.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) announced in February last year that the Sabah Development Corridor recorded RM5 billion in investment in the manufacturing sector for the year 2012. -FMT