1km strip to promote drag racing planned
Published on: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is planning to build an internationally approved 1km dragstrip, not just to satisfy the appetite of high speed among enthusiasts, but also towards stimulating growth of its own automotive industry.Inspired by how far Thailand has developed the sport, State Industrial Development Minister Datuk Seri Raymond Tan (pic) is convinced that the dragstrip would become a connecting element that brings related businesses together, not just locally but regionally as well.The big picture is to make Sabah a strategic centre for big automotive business and the dragstrip might just speed up the process.
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"We have already come up with a project plan. I will work with Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) on how we can quicken the process," Tan said of the dragstrip during the Thailand-Sabah Business Matching and Networking 2017 organised by the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Tuesday.Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance.Tan disclosed that the dragstrip will be part of a proposed KKIP Auto City project, which would serve as a hub that brings all automobile enthusiasts together, and naturally everyone else in the supply chain."We will also build a support industry so that whatever that comes next like factories will complement what we will have started," he said.
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He believed that when completed, the dragstrip would promote closer ties especially in trade between Sabah and Thailand through a common passion for the sport."By then racers from Thailand would come to race here and our people in their country," he envisioned.
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Tan also foresees what might possibly happen on the bigger scale where a regional race circuit, similar to the Formula One system, could happen where Sabah can be one of the locations.He could not commit when the project would take off but hoped it would see light as soon as the design work, which must meet the highest safety standards, is completed. "It must be 100 per cent safe," he said. He also hoped to learn more from the Thais on how they have developed the sport to a high level and also their automotive industry. In relation to this, Tan said Sabah is still pursuing the dream to become an automotive hub in the hope of emulating Thailand that ranks ninth in the world as the biggest automobile producing nation.Also located at the KKIP on a piece of land which has long been designated for this, he said the multi billion ringgit Pan Borneo Highway Project and the BIMP-EAGA network are just two of the many opportunities that await the State once it has a fully developed automotive assembly hub.Although the plan is not new, Tan pledged to give it more push this time in view of the existing and future prospects of the industry."I won't give up. It's important that we do this (hub) because it supplies to the BIMP-EAGA market and also the Pan Borneo Highway project, which would increase the demand for automobiles once fully completed," he said. He added that he is still talking with established automobile assembly companies in Malaysia while at the same time welcoming other potential partners, including from Thailand."I've actually been waiting for the right partner to develop this for a long time now. If the Thais want to build an assembly line here in KK, I'd say we're interested," he said.Pending that dream to happen, Tan assured that the 200-acres already been designated for the development of this industry would remain unchanged.TAN said the Malaysian Government is business-friendly and adopts a liberal policy on foreign equity ownership. Following in the footsteps of the national government, the State Government is business-friendly and welcomes foreign companies to own land. Land ownership is on a leasehold basis. Industrial land could be held up to a maximum of 99 years. He said even "native lands", that is land that can only be owned by the indigenous people of Sabah, can be leased for up to 60 years from their owners to undertake an investment project. "As there is currently an abundance of under-utilized land available in Sabah, I encourage the setting up of strategic JV's to develop the agriculture industry as well as its down-stream businesses. The Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry could take the important role towards the setting up of strategic partnerships with perhaps native cooperatives and relevant Thai businesses.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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