By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 30: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg will lead a Sarawak delegation to Manila in early September to strengthen cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on green economic development and Tanjung Embang infrastructure.
He said the visit followed his earlier meeting with the ADB and would focus on strengthening cooperation with the development bank for Sarawak’s green economic development and infrastructure needs.
“I will lead a delegation to Manila next week following our previous meeting with the ADB to strengthen cooperation with the bank for mutual benefit, towards green economic development and Tanjung Embang infrastructure,” he said in his message in conjunction with the 69th National Day celebration today.
The Premier said the engagement with ADB was part of Sarawak’s broader efforts to strengthen its economic base and move from a commodity-based economy towards a green, high-tech and sustainable model.
He said Sarawak’s economic position had strengthened since 2017, with state revenue more than doubling compared with more than a decade ago.
Sarawak recorded RM12.5 billion in revenue in 2025, while RM14.2 billion was recorded in 2024, the highest in the State’s history.
Abang Johari said Sarawak’s renewable energy resources were another key strength, with about 61 per cent of its installed electricity generation capacity coming from renewable sources, particularly hydropower.
The State is targeting an increase in electricity generation capacity from 5.9 gigawatts (GW) to 10GW by 2030.
He said the additional clean energy capacity would support the development of hydrogen, green industries, data centres and other high-tech industries.
Abang Johari also highlighted Bintulu’s recognition as Malaysia’s first Transitioning Industrial Cluster (TIC), placing it among 43 energy-based industrial clusters across 24 countries under the World Economic Forum.
He said the recognition reflected Sarawak’s capacity to support green industrial transformation.
Meanwhile, the Premier said agriculture and food security would remain important components of Sarawak’s economic development.
He said Sarawak, with about 1.66 million hectares of oil palm plantations and around 4.5 million tonnes of crude palm oil production in 2025, had room to expand the industry’s downstream value chain into areas such as animal feed and biomass.
Abang Johari said these developments would support Sarawak’s transition from a commodity-based economy towards a green, high-tech and sustainable economy.
He also expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for his assurance that the Federal Government would continue strengthening cooperation with Sarawak and Sabah towards the welfare of the people and more equitable development.
He said the transformation would continue under a progressive and stable Malaysia. — DayakDaily
