ADB identifies 50 projects for growth triangle

ADB identifies 50 projects for growth triangle

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has identified 50 projects, policies and programs for the
establishment of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle
(IMT-GT) cooperation, a vice president of the bank says.

William R. Thomson said in the third senior official meeting
on the IMT-GT here yesterday the bank has identified the
importance of establishing a Tripartite Marine Fisheries
Development Policy to govern cooperation in fishing in border
waters.

Thomson presented a mid-term ADB study prepared to assist the
countries in determining their future directions and pattern of
economic collaboration.

"Cooperation among the three countries on marine fisheries
offers considerable scope for increased production and trade and
development," he said.

Thomson added that the aim of the policy and projects within
the fisheries subsector is to maximize the benefits from the
complementarities which exist in marine fisheries by overcoming
past and present constraints and by utilizing the natural fish
resources from the deep sea and coastal waters of northern
Sumatra.

Thomson said the three countries should also develop
transportation and communication networks in the IMT-GT region,
which will involve the northern provinces of Indonesia's Sumatra
Island, the western states of Malaysia and the southern provinces
of Thailand.

A special IMT-GT telecommunication zone should also be
established to support business activities in the cooperation
area, he said.

Deregulation

He said the bank also recommends introducing deregulatory
measures on customs procedures to ease trade.

Thomson said laws and procedures need to be modified to fit
the needs of new development strategies which focus on regional
economic cooperation.

"In our opinion, the establishment of a border development
zone between Malaysia and Thailand is a key step in accelerating
the establishment of the IMT-GT," Thomson said.

ADB consultants have identified a geographical zone of about
40 kilometers on both sides of the border areas for the
development zone, he added.

Thomson suggested that the joint infrastructure development be
supported by simple customs procedures, free migration and free
labor movement.

The third meeting of IMT-GT, which is being held in Medan from
May 31 to June 2, is attended by delegations from the three
countries. The meeting is scheduled to be followed today by a
ministerial meeting, where the Indonesian delegation will be led
by Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto.

In anticipation of occasional problems that may arise as trade
and investment links increase, the ADB suggests that an
institution be set up as a forum for regular discussions of
perceived problems.

Thomson also noted that in the critical sector of labor
mobility there was no comprehensive policy governing labor flows
from the exporting countries of Thailand and Indonesia to
Malaysia.

"This lack (of policies) has led to increasing illegal
migration and business transaction costs and reduced the
potential of the growth triangle concept," he said. (rmn)