Malaysia puts extra $9.21b into dev plan

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (AFP): Malaysia said today it will spend another 9.21 billion dollars on its five-year development plan, to cover the costs of inflation, rural projects and increased food production.

Officials also said some high-profile infrastructure projects would be shelved, including a monorail and a new highway in the northern island state of Penang. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government would add 30 billion ringgit (9.21 billion dollars) to the original 200.0 billion ringgit allocation as part of a mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan.

The five-year development blueprint is aimed at achieving 6.0 per cent growth annually until 2010.

"The increase is... to cater for the rising cost of implementing existing projects as a result of the rising prices of building materials," he said.