T'ganu banks on tourism to push its gdp

Kuala Lumpur: Terengganu will continue to bank on its tourism sector as well as leverage the digital economy to push the state's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to eight per cent in the next two years from 4.5 per cent projected for this year.Terengganu State Economic Transformation Unit (Uten-T) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Wan Mohd Albakri Wan Md Noor said the state recorded a GDP of RM27.8 billion in 2015 and this was targeted to increase to RM41.5 billion in 2020.

The projected 4.5 per cent GDP growth for 2018 was below the national average, he added.

"If we are going at the normal growth rate of 4.5 per cent (per annum), we will achieve about RM33 billion (by 2020) hence to achieve eight per cent we need another RM9 billion (in GDP value)," he told reporters at Malaysian Investment Development Authority's (Mida) Invest Series: Unfolding the Potentials of Terengganu, here on Thursday.

He said the state would continue to push tourism sector to be the main contributor to its economy, simply due to the multiplier effects to the state economy and at the same time focus on the digital economy in line with the national agenda.

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Terengganu hopes to receive six million visitors in five years' time, up from the current 4.5 million.

The tourism sector contributes about 10-15 per cent to the state's economy and it is expected to widen to 30 per cent within the next two years.

Wan Mohd Albakri pointed out a number of developments that are taking place in Terengganu would help the state achieve its desired GDP target.

Among the positive developments are the East Coast Rail Link, Terengganu Silica Valley, Terengganu Technology Hub, Knowledge Park as well as various developments related to state tourism.

These developments would also help create more job opportunities, he said.

Hence, alongside the GDP growth, the state also expected to reach RM8,000 monthly household income, some 41,201 new jobs and RM13.5 billion in investment by 2020 for its economic transformation programme.

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Meanwhile, Mida Deputy CEO Arham Abdul Rahman said the agency's Invest Series served to provide updates and insights on the investment opportunities and facilities in each of Malaysia's 13 states, and Terengganu was the fifth briefing after Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Pahang.

As of December 2017, among the east coast states in Malaysia, he said Terengganu recorded the highest investment in the manufacturing sector with 210 implemented projects worth RM33.9 billion. – Bernama

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