Bukit Kayu Hitam to be second Langkawi
ALOR SETAR: Bukit Kayu Hitam is a rather quiet town at the Malaysia-Thai border in Kedah but it will soon morph into a second Langkawi through the effort of the government to develop the border area including the phasing in of a new Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said he was confident that the development of the complex could change the economic landscape which would benefit the local residents and the people in the state.
“It is the result of the state and federal governments' co-operation through several schemes which are being implemented aggressively including the building of a complete duty free town in the area.
“Although the tax relief is not like in Langkawi, I am confident the duty free town will give something interesting to foreign tourists and the local people,” he told reporters after opening a National Economic Transformation Seminar titled ‘The Chinese Community's Woman Entrepreneurship Opportunities' here yesterday.
Ahmad Bashah said development in Bukit Kayu Hitam was greatly stressed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who aspires to turn the area into a regional logistics hub.
“He ( Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) plans to come back to Kedah again early next year to monitor personally the development which is taking place other than taking cognisance of the planning of the duty free town so that it can be realised,” he said.
The 2018 Budget tabled by the prime minister on Oct 27 also contained a provision for the development of a Special Border Economic Zone in Bukit Kayu Hitam which encompasses a Free Industrial Area. — Bernama