At the same time, SEDC is also looking at the fishery business, given that Sarawak waters are teeming with fishes.
KUCHING (September 8): The Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is looking to see growth in the mining and quarrying sectors in the state.
According to chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain during the RHB Fireside Chat, SEDC has stakes in most of the quarries that are now in operation in the state.
“We have actually been able to turnaround some of the quarries to make them more profitable,” Abdul Aziz said, in response to sectors SEDC will be prioritising in the future.
“We hope that because of the economies of scale, we will be able to actually make this business more profitable and more efficient in order to be able to supply quarry materials, especially stones that is required for roads, for buildings, that is actually really needed for most of the infrastructure projects in Sarawak.
“Our idea is to expand our quarries not only around the Kuching area, but also to the middle of Sarawak, in Bintulu and also in the north, so that we will be able to supply the required raw materials for road works that are now being carried out (throughout) the region.”
At the same time, SEDC is also looking at the fishery business, given that Sarawak waters are teeming with fishes.
As some of the fishes are dying of old age, SEDC is trying to take advantage of this by going into the fishery business with its own fishing fleets to start operations.
This time, SEDC is not going to use foreign workers or foreign fishermen to run this fishing business.
“We will be looking at our own fishermen, there’s plenty of them, in the Beladin and Rajang areas, who actually wanted to come in and wanted to manage the SEDC fishing boats.
“We hope that these people will be able to manage better, the fishes will not be lost like last time.
“This time we will be coming back to Tanjung Manis and we will be able to start a more thriving fishing industry which will be able to create more employment for the people, for the fishermen, and also create an industry based on fishery.
“With that, we will also be helping local farmers who are having difficulties to sell fish, their fishes from their aquaculture farm.
“We will be looking to help them market these fishes through our plant, the plant that we are supposed to acquire in Tanjung Manis to build the facilities.”