Page 380 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

372 MALAYSIA’S ECONOMIC REGIONS
SABAH DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR
Sabah Economic Development & Investment Authority (SEDIA)
Level 26–28
Tun Mustapha Tower Yayasan Sabah Headquarters Complex, Likas Bay
P.O. Box 17251, 88873
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
T (088) 418 999 W sedia.com.my
The Sabah Development
Corridor (SDC) aims to transform this
East Malaysia state into a gateway for trade, investment, leisure and lifestyle. SDC initiatives are guided by the recently completed SDC Blueprint 2.0, ensuring measures are in place post-COVID-19 to shift the Corridor initiative in line with the Shared
Prosperity Vision 2030 and Sabah Maju Jaya plan. SDC is scheduled to run until 2030, with aspirations to have a competitive, innovative and high-value economy, inclusive and balanced development, as well as a healthy and resilient natural ecosystem. The target is to bring in a further RM95 billion in private investment by 2030, to increase Sabah’s GDP by an additional RM20 billion, and to create an additional 70,000 new jobs.
The Sabah Economic Development & Investment Authority (SEDIA) is the one- stop authority tasked to plan, coordinate and accelerate
the development of SDC.
It uses a holistic approach
to ensure everyone in the state benefits, in accordance with Malaysia’s adoption of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It focuses on leveraging Sabah’s existing assets; its strategic
location in the South China Sea, vibrant tourism industry, rich biodiversity, abundant
oil and gas reserves and a well-educated, largely English- speaking workforce.
SDC has attracted tremendous interest from local and foreign investors.
As of December 2020, it had received RM190.88 billion
of cumulative committed investments, of which RM85.68 billion were already realised. Consequently, Sabah recorded annual GDP growth of 8.2 percent for 2017, the highest in Malaysia, surpassing the national average of 5.9 percent.
Moving forward, the SDC Blueprint 2.0 prioritises five strategic thrusts (STs), which cover the economy (ST2), social development (ST4) and environmental sustainability (ST5), while two more focus on the business ecosystem (ST1) and human capital (ST3).