JELI, MALAYSIA: The university and polytechnics planned for Kelantan will be implemented as scheduled, the global economic crisis notwithstanding, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.

The RM130mil (S$54mil) University Malay-sia Kelantan (UMK) campus project, approved in 2007, is one of 20 universities approved nationwide.

"The Government cannot afford to stop the projects as doing so would affect the educational needs of the people," he said yesterday, after visiting victims of a fire that razed 11 hou-ses and shoplots at Air Lanas here.

Mustapa, the Jeli MP, added that the UMK complex, to replace the temporary campus in Pangkalan Chepa, would be built on a 232ha land in Tangok, Bachok.

Infrastructure projects in rural areas for roads, village development and flood mitigation will also continue as scheduled. "These projects are important and if there is a need to increase the allocation, the Government will consider it," said Mustapa.

He said several big projects were also underway, such as the second Sultan Yahya Petra in Kota Baru costing RM150mil and the new Kota Baru-Kuala Terengganu and Jalan Selising-Tok Bok roads.

"They are important to boost economic activities," he added. A total of 1,500 houses were also being built in Jeli for the poor.

--The Star/ANN