GEORGE TOWN – Penang will have sufficient industrial land to meet future investment demands in the next three to five years as several new sites have been earmarked for industrial use.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the sites include those in Batu Kawan, Tasek Gelugor, Kepala Batas and the planned Island A of the proposed Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation scheme.
He said the Penang Development Corporation has responded to the demand, as well as possible delay in approval of the PSI by the federal authorities, by rescheduling the land acquisition and infrastructure works at the sites.
“We also have private landowners who are embarking on creating a new industrial park in Penang,” he added.
He was speaking at a press conference after opening the 75th anniversary celebrations of Technological Association Malaysia’s (TAM) Innovations in Engineering Technology conference held at the Ship Campus at Batu Kawan today.
Also present was TAM president Yam Teong Sian, its Penang chairman Alex Poo Teng Soo and Malaysia Book of Records chief executive officer Datuk Seri Michael Tio.
Chow stressed that another challenge is whether there is sufficient talent to meet the job requirements brought about by the investments.
“I think in a year of investment, we will see 10,000 to 30,000 job opportunities.
“So, the issue is, whether our education system or existing talent pool is adequate to meet all these demands. The existing factories express their fear whenever we announce new investments as the new investors go pinching workers from the factories in operations by offering high salaries,” he said.
Chow added that there is a new trend of employers offering high salaries to attract new graduates into the job market.
“The state is aware of this issue, the federal government and the various government agencies are also aware and all are working hard in collaboration with the industries and academia.
He said state and federal authorities are collaborating with industries and academia to upscale the existing talent or rescale to meet the demand.
After seeing the exhibitions here, including those by small and medium industries and supply chain operators, Chow stressed that locals must benefit from huge investments.
“We say that we are proud of billions of investments. But do local enterprises benefit from these investments?” he asked.
“I am convinced that locals have benefitted from the fantastic investment results that we saw over the last three years,” Chow added. – The Vibes, April 23, 2022
