Brunei

Philippines

EAGA's Achievements

Until the crisis hit in mid-1997, air links in EAGA expanded to 11, from only five before the EAGA initiative. The Davao - Kota Kinabalu route in particular registered an incoming and outgoing passenger load increase of 35.95 and 51.71 percent respectively, while the Davao - Manado link grew 19.22 and 24 percent, incoming and outgoing passenger load respectively. Two more routes connecting Brunei and Palawan, and Kota Kinabalu and Manado have been proposed and are currently being studied by relevant airline companies for their feasibility. An MOU between RBA and a new airline, Mindanao Express (Corporate Air), to realise the Palawan-Brunei link is already in effect, agreed upon during the State Visit of HE President Estrada of the Philippines to Brunei. EAGA has also seen the birth of another airline in Sarawak-based SAEAGA Air, but was unfortunately driven to closure by the Asian financial crisis.

Leading to the first quarter of 1997, Royal Brunei Airlines, the national carrier of the sultanate, has likewise registered an average of 23.5 percent growth in outgoing cargo bound for EAGA destinations.

EAGA's sea transport industry also has marked developments. The latest addition to EAGA vessels plying the fast-growing Zamboanga - Sandakan sea link is a Malaysian-registered fast ferry. A small economic boom between these two cities has grown notable, where with increased shipping had generated more opportunities. The volume of Mindanao-bound cargo along this route has shown an average quarterly growth rate of more than 160%.

Links between Indonesia and the Philippines have led to the increased movement of people between Indonesia and the Philippines. The Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), Philippine Secretariat for EAGA, reports a 23.68 and 57.80 percent increase in M/V Tilongkabila's incoming and outgoing passengers for the first quarter of 1998. Moreover, another Indonesian vessel, M/V Ellyana has begun to sail this route. Already, it has serviced 1,301 passengers in the first quarter of 1998, and posted an average 56.18 percent Philippine-bound occupancy rate.

There is likewise a link from Cotabato to Labuan, which serves as a transit point for Philippine goods bound for Brunei. Traditional craft also continue to sail the Zamboanga - Labuan and Zamboanga - Manado routes.
Uniform port dues of US$ 0.04/GRT and dockage fees of $ 0.02/GRT/day for Bruneian, Indonesian, and Philippine EAGA-plying vessels are already being levied in selected ports around these countries.

In addition, the BIMP-EAGA Shipping Association was formed during the 7th Sea Links Working Groups Meeting in Davao in July 1999. It was incorporated to identify opportunities for the shipping sector, as well as advocate necessary policy amendments for the development of the industry in EAGA.

In construction and infrastructure, the Construction Working Group has endorsed the Pan-EAGA Multi-Modal transport Network System, an ambitious plan to integrate key cities of the growth area. This project calls for the construction and/or upgrade of roads, the erection of border-crossing stations, and the continued improvement of shipping services in the component areas of EAGA.

In tourism, Malaysia's Ekran Berhad has built and opened in March 1998 a US$ 300m resort in Samal Island in Davao. It is by far the largest cross-border investment of one EAGA constituent to a neighbouring area, and forms part of the Samal Island Tourism Estates Program of the Philippine Department of Tourism. The Samal Island Casino Resort is accessible by a 45-minute boat ride from Sta. Ana wharf in Davao City. Brunei has also reportedly made substantial investments in the tourism sector in Mindanao, bringing total EAGA investments in the area to over $ 500m.

Incidentally, the Philippine tourism industry is said to have most benefited from the EAGA initiative in terms of tourist arrivals. Largely because of the increase in investments in this sector, tourist arrivals in Central and Southern Mindanao have continued experiencing a general increase, totaling slightly less than a million arrivals in the period covering 1996 to Q2 1997.

On the other hand, ecotourism has large potentials in the Borneo Island area of EAGA, particularly Brunei and Sarawak, Malaysia. The RM 12m (US$ 3.16m), 10,736-hectare Loagan Bunut National Park in Sarawak is the first in the State, and is expected to be competed in 2001. Its features will include a 5.8-km access road, 40-person hostel, chalets, function rooms, water pumps, treatment plants, among others.

GSM communications has become a standard facility in more than 70 cities and towns around EAGA, bringing businessmen closer than ever before, and making cross-border business transactions the next practical step in commercial expansion.

In financial services, it may be only a matter of time before EAGA can boast of a Growth Fund to jumpstart important projects requiring large amounts of capital. Malaysia's Suria Capital Holdings, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Development Bank of the Philippines have signed an MOU to establish what the EAGA Growth Fund I, a US$ 150m, closed-end, 20-year equity fund that will participate in viable projects to catalyse development in the region.

In taking these progressive measures, the environment was certainly not left out. Joint efforts of Malaysia and the Philippines have led to the acclamation of the Turtle Islands Preservation Program - an endeavour that has garnered the Paul Getty Award for environmental protection and wildlife preservation.

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