Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei, which already boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia, wants to vault into the world`s top 10, according to a long-range government development plan.
The tiny, oil-rich nation on the weekend unveiled its `Wawasan Brunei 2035` plan which urged better implementation of development initiatives in order to accelerate economic growth.
The government identified tourism as a potential revenue generator, called for improvements in transport and communications infrastructure, and greater investment in research and development, according to an executive summary of the `Brunei Darussalam Long-Term Development Plan`.
Brunei is aiming for a `dynamic and sustainable economy with income per capita within the top 10 in the world,` the summary said.
The government also wants Brunei to have a quality of life that is among the world`s top 10, it said.
The nation has been debating how to secure its economic future amid dwindling oil and gas resources.
Brunei is the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia, and the world`s fourth-largest producer of liquefied natural gas, according to the Brunei Yearbook 2007.
Reserves are expected to last for at least two more decades based on current production rates.
The government`s long-range plan said economic progress has been inconsistent. It said a delay in implementing development projects has contributed to lower economic growth, limiting effectiveness of the government`s fiscal stimulus strategy.
One of the key challenges to accelerate economic growth rates during the 2007-2012 six-year plan `is therefore to enhance the national capacity to carry out development initiatives,` the government`s report said.
The plan aims to increase by at least 7 percent a year the number of tourists staying in paid accommodation, with an immediate target of 50-60 percent average hotel occupancy this year.
The report also calls for a 50-percent increase in tourism-related employment by 2010.
The transport and communication sector will focus on improving infrastructure, with emphasis on reducing travel time and opening up new access within the country, it said.
Another important feature of the initial six-year plan is research and development (R&D), the report said.
`Investment in R&D is aimed at narrowing the gaps that exist between Brunei Darussalam and its neighboring countries in the field of science, technology and innovation,` it said.
The government will also introduce a new Environment Act to strengthen environmental protection `and ensure sustainable management of the country`s national resources,` the report said.
Brunei`s government has allocated 9.5 billion Brunei dollars (7.0 billion US) to implement the initial six years of its long-range plan, the Borneo Bulletin on Sunday quoted Kamis Tamin, permanent secretary in the prime minister`s office, as saying.
The country`s mineral wealth has brought Brunei`s citizens, who number fewer than 400,000, an array of social welfare benefits.
Brunei is a Malay Muslim absolute monarchy ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who last year celebrated 40 years on the throne.
The sultan is prime minister, defense minister, finance minister and head of Islam in the country which occupies a sliver of Borneo island. It gained full independence from Britain in 1984.
Source: www.forbes.com (22 Januari 2008)
