Labuan banking on seven pillars for second phase economic growth

LABUAN: Labuan is banking on seven pillars to drive its second phase of economic growth from this year until 2030.
The seven pillars are education, tourism, public services, finance, oil and gas supported services, logistic and methanol production.
Labuan Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli said a number of projects are in the pipeline that would help boost the island's economic growth involving almost RM1 billion for this year in the various sectors.
Rozman, who is also Labuan Corporation chairman, said the premium outlets, which is the first of its kind on the island that featured branded products to be sold in these premises, would help compliment the tourism sector.
"The project on a 2.4-hectare site near the Labuan International Golf Club involves private investment and has been approved for implementation next month (February)," he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama in conjunction with the upcoming 14th Federal Territory Day today.
He said the more than RM140 million coastal project from Tanjung Aru and Nagalang to town centre to improve connectivity had also been approved and a contractor had been appointed for the job that is to be carried out this year.
Rozman said plans are also underway to establish the first University of Asia that involves the interested academic stakeholders in the Asean region to sit as the proposed university's board members.
"The proposal had been brought up during the last Parliament session and I believe the government is keen to see this materialise, as we aspire to turn Labuan as an education hub," he said.
At present the island is home to Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus (UMSKAL), Labuan Matriculation College and City College.
After being elevated into a federal territory in 1984, he said Labuan had gone through the first phase of well-planned development with a number of projects that benefitted the people.
"The island was turned into the country's international financial hub with hundreds of international offshore finance firms registered and operating on the island and, as we can see, the island's landmark of Financial Park Complex was completed," he said.
Rozman said the establishment of Petronas Methanol Labuan (PML), currently the fourth world's largest methanol producer that led to the mushrooming of international oil and gas companies being set up at the Asian Supply Base (ASB) here, also turned Labuan as one of the Malaysia's competitive oil and gas hubs.
This had generated employment and business activities while the recently launched Labuan Financial Services Authority's (Labuan FSA) transformational plan aimed at integrating its activities and operation was expected to provide an additional spillover to the island, he said.
To ensure Labuan benefited from the oil and gas supported services and methanol production, he said it was pertinent to also exploit the full potential of the sectors by looking at the downstream industry with more untapped methanol-based products to be invented.
"This is what we should focus on developing the manufacturing sector through the production of methanol, as it is able to create business activities and employment opportunities to the locals," he added.
Other projects for the people are the 160 units of 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M) and 500 units of Public Housing Project (PPR) that are scheduled to be implemented this year. — Bernama