Kertih Park on track to be hub for Asia-Pacific market

2009/04/10

Kertih Park on track to be hub for Asia-Pacific market

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Kertih Plastic Park is poised to become a global benchmark under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) initiative by 2015.

ECER chief executive officer Datuk Jebasingam Issace John told the New Straits Times that the country's first fully integrated plastics park, has the potential to emulate the success of the Dow Value Park in Germany.

KPP is expected to be fully operational in 2015, attracting RM2 billion worth of investments and creating more than 7,000 jobs.

An Internet search on the park states that in 1995, the Dow Chemical Company took over economic responsibility for several chemical sites that became the start of a restructuring process, which was unique in the history of the chemical industry.

The park in Germany which is a hub for the chemical, polymer and plastic industry is considered one of the world's best, in terms of industry practices, facilities, plant management, industry standards and its capacity in attracting investors.

"And that is the direction we want the KPP to head. In Germany, the park is a hub for the European market, but Kertih is well positioned to take care of the Asia-Pacific market which has two billion people.

"We are on the right track," he said after a briefing for Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said on ECER developments here.

Earlier, Ahmad had revealed that 31 projects under the initiative in the state have been approved while RM10.8 billion in investments have poured in.

The ECER team will be joining the International Trade and Industry Ministry on an investment trade mission to Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom later this month to promote among others the KPP, the Kemaman Heavy Industrial Park, the ECER handicraft industry and the Pahang Technology Park.