HUA HIN, Oct 26 — Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines (BIMP) have agreed to start carrying out 12 priority infrastructure projects costing about US$1 billion (RM3.38 billion) over the next two years.
The projects are under the BIMP East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) sub-regional cooperation programme.
Transport and power interconnection projects that will help boost trade, investment and tourism in the sub-region have been identified, according to a joint statement from the leaders of the four countries.
Projects planned for 2010 and 2011 include Sarawak (Malaysia)-Kalimantan (Indonesia) power interconnection, expansion of Mindanao (Philippines) ports programme, upgrading of the Kuala Lurah (Brunei) border-crossing facility and the Pontianak-Entikong road link (Indonesia).
Also in the pipeline is the rehabilitation of Davao-General Santos Road (Philippines), and construction of a bridge over the Pandaruan river between Brunei and Malaysia.
Leaders from the four countries, attending the Sixth BIMP-EAGA Summit here yesterday, also endorsed the process of identifying, implementing, and reviewing future sub-regional projects, and a technical assistance proposal from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help conduct feasibility studies for priority projects.
“Cooperation must now be further intensified in the agriculture, aquaculture
and fisheries sectors,” the leaders said.
The summit, held after the 15th Asean Summit here, was chaired by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Established in 1994, the BIMP-EAGA programme is committed to a broad range of initiatives to increase connectivity, boost economic growth and reduce poverty in the sub-region.
BIMP-EAGA countries are pursuing a road map consisting of projects to improve transport connectivity, power interconnection, tourism promotion, and trade facilitation.
The programme has a long-term goal of making the sub-region the major food producer for Asia, as well as being a premier eco-tourism destination.
ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda told the summit that while steady progress was good, it’s time for BIMP-EAGA to shift to a higher gear.
“An accelerated agenda of cooperation in infrastructure will be needed if BIMP–EAGA is to effectively address the constraints to creating a more economically integrated sub-region,” he said in a statement. — Bernama
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