KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is pushing for the development of an automotive industry in the state, and hopes to rope in one or two major investors.
State Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan said some 80ha has been set aside at the 3,328ha Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) here for the sector.
“We want to site all the related and supporting industries associated with the automotive industry within this zone,” he said after launching the updated versions of the Mitsubishi Triton pick-up trucks here yesterday.
He said small-and-medium scale automotive-related businesses, such as workshops, would also be encouraged to relocate to the site.
Once things were running at the new site, there would be no reason why businesses operating near villages or along the roads could not relocate, Tan added.
Noting that more than 200 industries have set up shop in the 1,600ha portion of the park that has been developed so far, Tan said there was also a need for state-owned KKIP Sdn Bhd, that is developing the industrial park, to improve its marketing efforts.
He said the automotive zone was among the provisions of a more detailed masterplan for the park’s development, which would also include zones for related skills training and housing.
“We will ensure the KKIP is a fully integrated development,” he said.
On concerns that land belonging to Sabah’s bumiputra community is ending up in the hands of non-natives, Tan said there were sufficient provisions to protect the interests of the state’s ethnic communities.
“If native land is being owned by non-bumiputra, there has been abuse and this is what we should look into,” Tan added.
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