PUTRAJAYA: The Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) has added four new projects to its list of development initiatives to spur economic activities, particularly in Perak, Penang, Kedah and Perlis.
One of the latest projects is an aquaculture programme in Sungai Menghulu in Kedah, a joint initiative between the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), the state Fisheries Department and Progressive Ocean Sdn Bhd.
It will develop a quarantine centre to breed up to 200,000 fish fry, an aquaculture farm for up to 800 cages, and a collection centre.
A similar project will be set up in Sungai Kerang, Perak, which will see the NCIA collaborating with Ace Front Industries Sdn Bhd to start 24 ponds to breed prawns, which is expected to generate 432 million tonnes of white prawns a year with a market value of RM4.4mil.
In Perlis, the NCIA will work with the Perlis Economic Develop-ment Corporation to develop infrastructure for the Pauh Industrial Zone. Pens Holdings Sdn Bhd has been entrusted with the development works for the area which, once completed, is expected to draw more investments to the state.
In Penang, the authority will collaborate with Advanced Micro Devices Export Sdn Bhd to set up a facility for enabling microprocessing tests. The project is expected to provide at least 500 jobs in engineering and other technical fields
The agreements for the four programmes were exchanged yesterday, witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after chairing the fifth NCIA meeting at his office here.
Also present were the Mentris Besar of Perak, Perlis and Kedah – Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu and Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak – and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
NCIA chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq told a press conference that the four projects were estimated at RM835mil, adding that only a small fraction of it was to construct facilities while the remaining amount was “real investment deals.”
