The Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), initiated by the Government to enhance the quality of life of the people by accelerating the growth of Sabah’s economy, promoting regional balance and bridging the rural-urban divide while ensuring sustainable management of the state’s resources, is part of the five economic corridors inspired by Prime Minister Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi. It is in line with the key thrusts and objectives of the National Mission launched by the Prime Minister in 2006 and the HalaTuju Pembangunan dan Kemajuan Negeri Sabah, launched in 2004 by Y.A.B. Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman, Chief Minister of Sabah, which outlines the direction of the state’s development. The theme for the SDC is ‘Harnessing Unity in Diversity for Wealth Creation and Social Well-Being’.

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It is envisaged that within the SDC’s implementation period of 18 years from 2008 to 2025, Sabah could significantly enhance its development across all fronts (social, economic, physical and environmental) by catalysing a virtuous cycle of growth that builds on Sabah’s natural strengths.

The Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) programmes are underpinned by three key principles that will guide development in Sabah, namely the need to:

Capture higher value economic activities

Promote balanced economic growth with distribution

Ensure sustainable growth via environmental conservation

The sub-regions and growth centres will be planned systematically to ensure optimum resources allocation and development efforts are well-coordinated. The initial focus is on enhancing Sabah’s liveability index and making it a business friendly location via targeted infrastructure upgrading and by lowering the cost of doing business.

By 2025, the SDC initiative aims to triple Sabah’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and increase its GDP by four times through the implementation of the prioritized programmes. In total, more than 900,000 new jobs are expected to be generated during the SDC implementation period. Hardcore poverty is targeted to be eliminated by the end of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) with overall poverty halved from 23% in 2004 to 12% in 2010.