THE Sarawak Government has tabled a State Budget of RM 15.8 billion for next year.
Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said it was an expansionary budget and the biggest State Budget ever in Sarawak.
"We will focus on high-impact activities while balancing our expenditures and ensure all our projects are executed efficiently," he said.
Out of the amount, development expenditures will take up RM 10.9 billion while RM 4.9 billion will be for administrative expenditures.
Among the key points of the development expenditures is an allocation of RM1.42 billion to continue the construction of the Autonomous Rapid Transit hydrogen tram project in Kuching.
A total of RM 174 million will be for Sarawak tourism promotions, marketing and related activities and RM 30 million to provide pocket money for selected university students from Sarawak studying in universities.
Each student will be given RM1,200 pocket money to help with their expenses.
Some RM 11 million will be used to plan for carbon-capture projects, while RM 5 million will be channelled towards the preliminary construction of the Sarawak Cancer Centre in Kuching,
Johari said Sarawak expects to rake in a revenue of RM 14.2 billion in 2025 with the oil and gas sectors leading the way.
The sales tax that Sarawak imposes on petroleum products will help secure more revenue next year, he added. - November 11, 2024
