BAU – The public and private sectors in Sarawak will join forces in efforts to implement the Greater Bau development master plan within the next 10 years, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said today.
He is confident that there would be significant economic activity taking place under the master plan to transform Bau, Lundu, Sematan, Santubong, and Pantai Damai, with tourism and agriculture as the core activities besides mineral mining.
“With all this planning, the people of Bau as well as in the whole of Sarawak have a bright future because now we also control our oil and gas activities (which will generate additional revenue for the state),” he said when launching the Bau Bicentennial Celebration 2020 (1820 – 2020) at Tasik Biru here.
According to him, the state government had approved a total of RM233 million, including new requests from Tasik Biru state assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep, for infrastructure and utility development in Bau district.
He said RM129 million was approved in the past two years, including RM40 million for upgrading the water supply system here, all the way up to Sematan in Lundu, the southernmost district in Sarawak, which would be completed by the end of 2021.
Abang Johari said the state government had also agreed with a proposal to develop Tasik Biru, a former gold mining site in Bau district, into a resort, and would utilise the latest technology to clean the water in the lake.
He pledged to transform Sarawak into an economic powerhouse so that more Sarawak-born professionals would return to the state to grab the job opportunities created.
“When policies are introduced there are risks, but we must be brave and know how to calculate and manage these risks,” he said, on the transformation initiatives introduced by the government. – Bernama, December 31, 2020
