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Two
local companies who produce Halal medical products will become the
first companies to start operations at the Penang Halal Industrial Park
next year.
Chief
Minister Lim Guan Eng said that Halagel (M) Sdn Bhd, producer of Halal
gelatine for pharmacies, and GranuLab (M) Sdn Bhd, a producer of
synthetic bone graft material, had agreed to build their factories in
the park which is located in Bukit Minyak, Seberang Perai.
He
said Halagel and GanuLab were in the midst of getting ready to start
their operations in the park which is located next to the Science Park
there.
Both the companies expect to start work on their respective factories in two or three month’s time.
Lim said this at a press conference held in his office here Friday.
He said Halagel would invest more than RM130 million while GranuLab will invest RM100 million in the Halal Industrial Park.
“This
is among the efforts taken by the state government to build up a
successful international Halal hub in Penang and the first phase of the
park will cover an area of 52.4 hectares,” he said.
Lim
said Granulab will be also directly involved in the setting up of an
incubator centre to encourage the development of businesses and
technology expansion in the park and this is expected to attract
investments from a variety of multinational companies.
He
said the incubator centre which will occupy a 0.8 hectare piece of
land, is expected to help 20 other companies to start their operations
in the park.
“What
is important is that both Halagel and GranuLab are able to generate job
opportunities for 500 people and GranuLab will give attention to
knowledge-based workers,” he said.
He
said the chairman of the State Committee for Domestic Trade and
Consumer Affairs, Abdul Malik Abul Kassim was also keen on attracting
investments from the Middle East to the park. Abdul Malik will be
attending the World Halal Exhibition in Abu Dhabi next week, he added.
Lim
today also announced the set-up of two advisory panels to cover the
industrial and services sector towards economic development in the
future.
He
said several experts with experience from the industrial and services
sector will be members of the panel and they will guide in the efforts
taken to develop the two sectors.
The
panel for the industrial sector will focus on the areas of electronics,
information communication technologies (ICT), biotechnology, medical
devices and all supportive industries in the manufacturing sector.
As
for the services sector advisory panel, it will focus on the areas of
real estate, tourism, logistics, wholesale facilities, retail, health
care and education.
Members
of the industrial panel will include the Chairman and President of Mini
Circuits Technologies Malaysia, Datuk Seri Kelvin Kiew Kwong Sen,
President of the Malaysia Manufacturers Association (Northern Branch)
Datuk O.K.Lee, General Manager of the Penang Development Corporation
(PDC), Datuk Rosli Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of Vigilenz Medical
Devices Sdn Bhd, S.Choudhury, Advisor of the Malay Chamber of Commerce
Malaysia Penang Branch (DPMMPP), Datuk Faudzi Naim Noh and the Chief
Executive Officer of Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC), Datuk
Boonler Somchit.
The
services advisory panel meanwhile will have the membership of Chairman
of the Architect Association of Malaysia (northern branch), Nik Rahiman
Taib, Chairman of the Institute of Engineering (northern branch), Lim
Kok Khong, Chairman of the Penang Health Association, Datuk Dr Chan Kok
Ewe, President of the Malaysia International Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (MICCI), Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff, and the Chairman of the
Association of Penang Hotel Operators, Marco G.Battistotti while Rosli
will represent PDC.
Lim
said among the duties of the panel would be to provide advisory
services, input and guidance on technology, business, market trends, as
well as opportunities and best practices in the respective sectors. It
will also inform the state government on the global developments,
scenario and the future direction of the respective sectors and also
participate in programmes carried out by the state government.
He said investPenang, which will provide the secretariat needs, will also be a member of both the panels.
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