KUALA LUMPUR: The Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) will continue with new significant investment in infrastructure to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth and quality of life improvements of the citizen.
The country has historically invested significantly on infrastructure and the investment had allowed a majority of the people to have access to essential amenities and services such as transport, communications, electricity and clean water, said the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department in the 11MP.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tabled the five-year (2016-2020)plan in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The EPU said as Malaysia moves closer to Vision 2020 of becoming an advanced economy, the focus would not only be on further expanding the physical reach of these networks, but to improve the efficiency, productivity and affordability of these services and enhancing user experience.
Issues of streamlining licences and regulations, and strengthen institutional frameworks to improve integrated planning and regulatory oversight of the industry would be addressed, it said.
“These efforts will lay the right ‘software’ for infrastructure as new significant investments, from mass rapid transit system, high-speed broadband, expanded sewerage networks to new oil refining capacity, are rolled out in the next five years,” it said.
Under the 11MP, initiatives would be undertaken to provide a seamless transportation system and enhance mobility of people, targeting a 40 per cent public transport modal share in the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley region and 20 per cent in other state capitals.
Rural, rural-urban and inter-city connectivity will also be strengthened through enhanced bus, rail and air services, it said.
The EPU said with trade playing a significant role in Malaysia’s economic growth, the logistics industry will therefore be strengthened, targeting an 8.5 per cent annual growth rate of the transport and storage subsector, along with a place in the top 10 of the World Bank Logistics Performance Index.
Beyond physical connectivity, it said digital infrastructure was targeted to reach 95 per cent of populated areas along with its affordability targeted at 1.0 per cent of gross national income per capita for fixed broadband cost.
Key infrastructure roll-out initiatives such as high-speed broadband 2, sub-urban broadband and digital terrestrial television will be undertaken during this period, along with policies to improve access pricing and consumer protection frameworks.
On essential amenities like water services and energy, the government aimed to provide 99 per cent of the population with clean and treated water, 80 per cent with connected sewerage services and reduce non-revenue water to 25 per cent, said the EPU.
In energy sector, 7,626 megawatts of new generation capacity would be installed in Peninsular Malaysia, along with 300,000 barrels per day refining capacity at Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex, it added. – Bernama