The creation of a Duty Free Trade Zone at Bukit Kayu Hitam near Malaysia-Thailand border can boost the industrial area which has seen better days.

The Duty Free Zone would have facilities and infrastructure such as hotels, housing, shopping malls and schools in an area spanning 2,428 hectares.

State Exco for Industry and Investment, Domestic Trade, Consumer Affairs and Cooperatives and Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), Datuk Dr Ku Rahman Ku Ismail said Kedah Science and Technology Park (KSTP), to be built in the area, would boost high-value industries and attract more foreign investors.

"It is true that Bukit Kayu Hitam industrial area has not reached its goal and that factories and logistics companies are not that active. This is why we want to develop KSTP.

"The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) have appointed a consultant to study the KSTP project," he said in reply to a question from Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (PAS-Anak Bukit) who wanted to know about new investments in Bukit Kayu Hitam industrial area in the Kedah State Assembly, here today.

Ku Rahman said that several companies have shown keen interest in building factories in KSTP but declined to divulge them at the moment.

"Efforts to develop an industrial area is not easy because the utilities and infrastructure must first be completed," he added.

KSTP, to be build on a 800-hectare land owned by Kedah State Development Corporation (PKNK), will focus on agro-based industries, technology, information and communications technology (ICT). --Bernama