ALOR SETAR (Aug 27): A total of RM15.26 billion in investments has been realised in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) via collaboration between the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Kedah state government in the first seven months of 2024. 

NCIA chief executive Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan said about 1,700 job opportunities have been created as a result of the investments.

He said this amount significantly exceeds the RM5.43 billion in investments realised during the same period last year.

“This strong performance is evidence of the effectiveness of the NCER strategic development plan, and NCIA is confident that this year’s overall performance will surpass that of 2023 in the state.

“This year, NCIA also introduced the FaCi@NCER initiative, which aims to expedite the investment realisation process in NCER by connecting various stakeholders through a comprehensive approval process chain,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Additionally, he said the medical device industry is a crucial component of the high-value manufacturing sector in Kedah, particularly in the Kulim High Technology Park and the industrial area around Sungai Petani.

“Since 2019, NCIA has successfully realised cumulative investments of RM34.8 billion, creating more than 16,000 job opportunities in the high-value manufacturing sector in Kedah.

“From this amount, RM1.56 billion was contributed by the medical device industry, with over 1,600 skilled and semi-skilled job opportunities successfully created,” he said.

Mohamad Haris expressed his optimism that via the NCER strategic development plan, Kedah will emerge as the preferred medical device manufacturing hub in the future, not only locally but also globally.

The announcement of NCER’s investment performance for Kedah was made during the state’s steering committee meeting, chaired by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor earlier. 

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