SE Asian growth triangle will improve energy, labor sectors
SE Asian growth triangle will improve energy, labor sectors
MANILA (AFP): A proposed Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) will improve the energy and labor situations in these countries and boost investment in the area, said delegates at a special conference here yesterday.
The conference, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), however also discussed constraints on the creation of the IMT-GT including various national restrictions as well as a need to improve the studies aimed at creating this growth area.
The three-day conference, held at the ADB's headquarters in Manila, is aimed at studying recommendations for the creation of the IMT-GT.
It is hoped that by encouraging greater economic integration, the area can enjoy the same kind of progress spawned by the China-Taiwan-Hong Kong growth triangle.
Phisit Pakkasem, head of the Thai delegation, said ADB studies for the creation of the IMT-GT were "comprehensive and well- organized," but said they still contained some factual errors which must be corrected.
He also said that the role of the private sector in the creation of the zone must be maximized, both for their management skills and to raise capital for projects to be undertaken in the growth triangle.
Annuar Maaruf, the head of the Malaysian delegation, said the creation of the IMT-GT would ease the inflow of illegal workers into Malaysia both by regulating the entry of workers and by encouraging Malaysians to invest in Thailand and Indonesia.
Power
Sanjaya Lall, an international energy and industry consultant from Oxford University, also identified power integration with Sumatran coal, liquefied natural gas and electricity being supplied to Thailand to ease that country's power problems.
He also said Sumatran coal and power could similarly be supplied to Malaysia adding that consortia from all three countries could be set up, from both the private and public sector, to set up power plants in certain areas chosen for optimized service to the whole region.
Lall also identified potential industries for all the areas covered by the triangle but added that lack of infrastructure, technological capabilities, subcontracting systems, credit, information and cheap but skilled labor, also constrained the development of the region.
He called for more human resource development, including training programs for foreign workers, as well as the imposition of higher technical standards, to address these problems.
During the conference, members of the Malaysian delegation also said different legal systems as well as domestic protection and restrictive land and immigration policies were also constraints.
The results of this conference will be taken up further at a meeting between officials of the three countries at Penang in late-September.