Development Plans Afoot For Pulau Banggi In Various Sectors - Hajiji

PULAU BANGGI (KUDAT), Aug 23 (Bernama) -- The Sabah government wants to develop Pulau Banggi in various sectors, especially in tourism and its economy.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said to achieve it, the state government plans to further strengthen relations with neighbouring countries through barter trade in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMB-EAGA).

"Barter trade with our neighbours not far from here, can be a big boost to our economic activities. So there is great potential for Pulau Banggi, this is indeed a special island in Sabah," he said.

He said this in a statement after the groundbreaking ceremony of the Pulau Banggi Water Supply Extension Scheme project worth almost RM62 million at Kobong Open Hall here today.

Therefore, in line with the plan, Hajiji said the state government will consider the request of Banggi assemblyman Datuk Mohammad Mohamarin to upgrade the status of Banggi sub-district to a full district.

At the ceremony, Hajiji also approved the construction of a hall on the island with an allocation of RM6 million and a Bonggi community cultural hall worth RM1 million.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said the state government's ability to revive the economy that was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic proved that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government was functioning well.

Hajiji said that through three sectors, namely industry, tourism and agriculture, the GRS government was able to revive the state's economy and uplift economic activities to record revenues reaching almost RM7 billion compared to RM4 billion several years before.

He said the government led by him had tried to do its best over the past five years and had planned well to revive the economy in the three main sectors.

-- BERNAMA