Vision 2035 and HoB can co-exist, says CSPS

BRUNEI does not need much industrial floor space to achieve its economic growth aim for 2035 as it can, instead, be creative when looking at existing sites such as downtown Bandar, and areas surrounding the airport, the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) said.

There is no need to cut into the land allocated for the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative to reach its targets set by the Wawasan (Vision) 2035, said CSPS which commissioned SGS Economics & Planning, Australia to conduct the Land Optimisation Strategy for Industrial and Commercial Growth.

The study by SGS Economics has already identified what Brunei's industrial land requirements are, and where the potential sites can be located.

Without looking at empty land, SGS has targeted downtown Bandar Seri Begawan, where existing buildings or areas are not fully utilised.

The airport's environs also holds a lot of potential, in particular for creative industries, as there are already existing infrastructure and services, like hotels, shopping malls, the iCentre, the national stadium and so on.

Dato Paduka Dr Hj Ismail Hj Duraman, executive director of the centre, said that Brunei's land utilisation and optimisation will be linked to the Wawasan 2035.

"In achieving the objective, we need to improve the quality and life of people, and become top 10 in terms of GDP rank, so we are looking at how land can contribute to help the economic drive for Brunei," he said, adding that the consultants have a challenging job.

Dato Dr Hj Ismail added: "Land use is related to investment, whether foreign or local. And we want to do this as quick as possible to leapfrog our development, to improve our economy, and industrial growth."

CSPS will be hosting a forum on the study today.

Dr Diana Cheong, senior researcher at the centre, said that CSPS often uses expert consultants with a global track record, but they cannot be successful without the contribution and comments from relevant stakeholders.

"This is the only way to make the study more relevant to the actual reality of Brunei and it addresses actual aspirations and expectations of the local community," said Dr Cheong.

Dr Cheong explained that CSPS' role as a think tank is to provide empirical data to the government, and in that way, the recommendations will be independent and non-biased to the stakeholders.

Dr Cheong added that besides downtown BSB and the international airport's environs, areas in Seria or Belait are also being looked at as potential industrial or commercial areas.

"The good news here is Brunei will not need to touch its preservation land," she said.

Dr Cheong explained that the consultation topics for the one-day forum today, are: SGS's preliminary priority industry clusters and employment futures, associated commercial and industrial land requirements; an interactive discussion on matters pertaining to FDI attraction which includes SGS's findings on Brunei's potential market and the role of sufficient and suitable land to facilitate these investment attractions to Brunei.

Dato Dr Hj Ismail said that the Ministry of Development will help with the discussion of the existing masterplan, and how it can compliment to this study.

"The ministry talks about the country's masterplan on land use, but the CSPS study is focused on industrial growth. So it's very important to make sure land is being used optimally," he said.

As for matters relating to foreign direct investments (FDI), Dato Dr Hj Ismail said that the BEDB will discuss the land identified for the potential attraction of FDI's to Brunei.

"The Ministry of Finance will discuss the issue related to funding, to make sure investments are secure and so on," he said.

The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources' AgroTech Park will be one of the key topics tomorrow, and although its location has already been identified, the park will be instrumental in any research and development project related to agriculture, as well as boosting the capabilities of Bruneian micro enterprises.

Consultant SGS Economics has been using Geographic Information System (GIS) to map Brunei's land sites and then compare it to the economic modelling of six to seven industrial sites which are being proposed to determine how much land is required.

The study will be completed in April 2012.

The Brunei Times