Sabah Development Corridor - Rationale of the Economic Corridor

Topic 4: Sabah Development Corridor (SDC)

ii. rationale of the economic corridor

Sabah Development Corridor was established to enhance the quality of life by promote region balance and close the gap between urban and rural, accelerating economic growth and then increase the standard living of local people. In addition, the implementation of Sabah Development Corridor also with the objective to enhance and improve knowledge and the innovation ability so as to achieve a world first-class mentality and to manage and solve the problem of wealth inequality. There are five key objective and unique attributes for this project.

First of all, Sabah Development Corridor was established in order to make Sabah as world-class, important and excellent gateway for trade, leisure and investment.Apart from that, this project also aimed to establish a prospering and harmony society in our country regardless of race, language and religion as well as to promote standard of living by widespread use of high technology. Besides that, establishment of Sabah Development Corridor also to provide local and foreign talents people job opportunity by making more high return employment opportunity.Last but not least, Sabah Development Corridor also tends to builds up Sabah to become a leading economic region and one of the most comfortable and liveable places in Asia.

Besides, an overriding importance concern in Sabah Development Corridor is to entirely eradicate poverty by the year 2025 in Sabah. By 2025, Sabah Development Corridor aims to triple the Sabah’s GDP per capita as well as increase its GDP by four times by implement the prioritised programmes. By the end of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, hardcore poverty is targeted to be eliminated with overall halved in 2004, 2010 and 2012 and it is havled from 23% to 12% and 8.1% respectively. In addition, Sabah is expected to experience rapid economic growth which is attaining a four-fold raise in its GDP to RM63.2 billion in 2025 with the implementation of this project. By the end of 2025, the unemployment rate will also expected to be decrease from year 2016 and it is decrease from 5.8% to 3.5%, not only that, the establishment of Sabah Development Corridor also expected to create as many as 900,000 new jobs as well.

Sabah Development Corridor was designed to focus on several areas which is agriculture, logistics and manufacturing, higher education, tourism, oil,gas and energy and palm oil as well.Under the agriculture programme, it is focus on planting high-value crops for export as well as downstream processing, increasing the overall food self-sufficiency, and it is also assisting in poverty eradication as well. For the logistics, the main focus is the cost of doing business in Sabah can be reduced. The programme is designed to encourage the rural communities to participate at various types and