KUCHING: The construction of the RM27 million digital village project at Sama Jaya High Tech Park here is set to begin this month.
Yesterday, Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) handed over the project to Hock Seng Lee Bhd.
In a statement issued yesterday, Tegas chairman Datu Len Talif Salleh said that the construction of the village was expected to be completed within a period of 18 months.
“We are working closely with the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to ensure the timely delivery and success of the project,” he said.
The Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Assistant Minister said Tegas would work diligently with the contractor to complete the project before the stipulated period from today, without compromising on the quality as required under the contract.
SMA general manager Dr Zaidi Razak said the village would further expand the impact of its established startups by imbuing them with cutting-edge technology, latest research and up-to-date digital skills.
“It will play a significant role in establishing and developing localised knowledge in Sarawak, and put Sarawak technopreneurs and startups on the world map,” he said.
He added with all its partners within the digital ecosystem, such initiative would create success stories that would be the pride of the state and nation.
Under the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2025 (Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Action 38), the digital village is established to facilitate technology transfer and commercialization and accelerate the maturity of the start-ups through global accelerator partnership.
Initiatives at the village will include “Launch Sarawak” (Action 39) – a programme to provide a transformative pathway to support innovation, intellectual property creation and spin-offs, as well as scale-up programmes and Open Lab.
The Sarawak governmnent through the SMA will also set up “Digital Landing Pads” (Action 40) overseas to promote the state as a destination for high tech innovation and entrepreneurship like Silicon Valley or Shanghai, also to encourage both domestic and foreign investments.
Present at the handing over of site ceremony were Tegas Board of Trustees including Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Corporate Affairs Assistant Minister Abdullah Saidol, Telang Usan state assemblyman Dennis Ngau, and Deputy State Secretary Datu Dr Sabariah Putit.
