In his New Year message, Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Md Nor said the state government was convinced that the projects would greatly spur the state’s economy when completed.

“At the same time, other development projects will continue to receive attention.

“This includes the Kedah Science & Technology Park in the Bukit Kayu Hitam Special Border Economic Zone and Kedah Rubber City in Padang Terap which are attracting the attention of foreign and domestic investor communities.

“The Kulim Hi-Tech Park is also being expanded to fulfil the increasing demand of industry players.

“Also, we are about to open a new industrial area – the Gurun Industrial Smart Park,” he added.

Sanusi said these efforts were made to boost the economy of Kedah and offer new jobs.

Sanusi also said the Kedah Aerotropolis mega project, which includes the Kulim International Airport (KXP), had received new investors.

“Kedah Aerotropolis will be the home of Sidam Logistics and Aerospace & Manufacturing and will be the air travel industry maintenance, repair and overhaul operations hub for the Southeast Asian region,” he said.

For the first half of this year, Sanusi said Kedah received investments from foreign and local sources worth RM9.7 billion, compared with RM68.3 billion last year.