FT Ministry identifies issues plaguing Labuan's slow economic development

The Federal Territories Ministry has identified several factors plaguing Labuans slow economic development and will soon come up with effective solutions to return the island into a must-visit destination. Its minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who acknowledged that additional allocation should be channelled to Labuan for its tourism development and programmes, said the duty-free island had great potentials to be another premier and vibrant federal territory for various economic sectors. He outlined a number of high potential income earners besides tourism that could take the island to greater heights such as education, halal development, oil and gas and financial sectors among others. We must enhance the tourism sector which is able to help generate revenue for the local economy, and at the same time look at the number of tourism facilities to attract visitors, as efforts are on card to woo more tourists to come to the island with frequent international flights being dealt with, he told reporters at a moreh with the media fraternity on the island last night. He said the island, being strategically located and peaceful, was suitable to locate established universities, as such, efforts would be initiated to deal with international universities to locate their branch campus on the island. He said the energy, oil and gas (O&G) and financial services sectors, which are already on track, still needed improvement. As such, a large portion of the sea area within the Rancha-Rancha Industrial Area would be reclaimed soon. This is another initiative from government to assist our local industry and job employment in the long run, he said.