Tuesday, November 13, 2007 BIMP-Eaga SMEs adopt econ corridor concept By Joy Romares-Sevilla
TRADE and Industry Assistant Secretary Merly M. Cruz, Philippine Senior Official to the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga), Monday said that the small and medium enterprise (SME) development cluster of the sub-region, has adopted the "Economic Corridor Concept" proposed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) during the 7th Cluster Meeting held recently in Zamboanga City.
ADB said economic corridors are geographically designated areas that facilitate cross-border movement of goods, services, capital, people, and information. They activate and accelerate trade, investments, and economic activities by focusing on transport linkages and infrastructure development.
The identified BIMP-Eaga economic corridors are the West Borneo, which traverses Brunei Darussalam, West Kalimantan in Indonesia, and Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia; East Borneo (Sabah in Malaysia and East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan in Indonesia), and Greater Sulu Sulawesi (North Sulawesi in Indoenisa, Sabah in Malaysia and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines).
"The adoption of the Economic Corridor Concept would mean opening doors of opportunities for the entire sub-region," Cruz said.
The Smed Cluster also supported the request for ADB to provide some technical assistance for the conduct of a pre-investment study in order to boost business ventures.
The study also aims to identify strengths and challenges to increase trade, tourism, and investments.
