Muhyiddin: Pagoh higher education hub to operate by mid-2016

MUAR: The Pagoh Higher Education Hub (HPTP) is expected to begin operations by the middle of next year, a year earlier than expected, says Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

"The first phase is 70% completed. I expect the universities to start using some of the facilities next year, and not in 2017 as planned," he said.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister was speaking to reporters after a closed-door briefing on the Pagoh Development Plan at Kompleks Seri Pekembar in Pagoh today.

The development of Bandar Baru Universiti Pagoh will include infrastructure such as roads, housing and public transport to support HPTP.

"One encouraging thing is the planned Malaysia-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) Project.

"After discussion with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), they agreed to align the railway to HPTP. This will provide a catalyst for the rapid growth of Bandar Baru Universiti Pagoh," said Muhyiddin.
The Pagoh member of parliament said efforts to attract foreign universities to set up campus in HPTP were under discussion.

Imperial College London, the second ranked university in the world, has also agreed to collaborate with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in HPTP.

Earlier in his speech, Muhyiddin said the latest development of HPTP was a catalyst for increased activities and provided more benefits in terms of human capital development with the creation of more than 25,000 jobs.

The first phase of HPTP involves the development of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), UTM and Politeknik Pagoh.

At the event, Muhyiddin witnessed the inking of a memorandum of understanding between Tunas Selatan Construction Sdn Bhd and UTM, UTHM, IIUM and Politeknik Pagoh to build residential colleges for 7,008 students costing RM300 million. – Bernama