Malaysia's Melaka State Eyes US$7.2 Bln Investments From China

MELAKA (Malaysia), Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Melaka is targeting to draw US$7.24 billion (RM30 billion) in investments from China over the next 15 years, supported by a charter flight service from Guangdong to the state, said Chief Minister Idris Haron. "The investments are expected to flow into various sectors, particularly deep-sea fishing port development, reclamation land utilisation, as well as accommodation, hotels and a regional trade centre development projects," he told reporters here Thursday. Earlier, he welcomed the arrival of an inaugural direct flight carrying 129 passengers from Guangdong to Melaka. Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Wee Ka Siong and Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang. Idris said currently, a 300-room hotel is being built with an investment of US$72.42 million (RM300 million) from China. He also said Melaka was expected to receive three million visitors from the republic within a one-year period, beginning Thursday. "For the first six months of this year, we have received 653,363 tourists from China who arrived via land roads from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. "On top of that, all tickets for the next 24 chartered flights scheduled until Jan 3, 2017, have been booked," said Idris. He said the state government is currently negotiating with relevant parties to make the charter flight service as a regular scheduled flight service. "We have been talking about making it a daily scheduled flight over the past six months," he said. Idris said the charter flight service was a stepping stone to establish Melaka as a regional hub for domestic and international routes. -- BERNAMA