KUCHING, Aug 11: The epichlorohydrin (ECH) manufacturing plant that is expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2023 in Samalaju Industrial Park will be Malaysia’s first ever such facility.
The plant, which is being built with an investment of over RM760 million, will be run by OCIKUMHO Sdn Bhd, which is a joint venture between OCIM Sdn Bhd and South Korea-based Kumho P&B Chemical Inc.
ECH is a compound mainly used to produce epoxy resins, commonly to make adhesive.
Other than serving the clean energy market by providing corrosion protection coatings, ECH is also useful in the industrial, automotive, packaging and aerospace industries.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chief executive officer Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said the plant will be using bio-based raw materials such as glycerine and tap into electricity from a hydropower plant in Sarawak.
This will yield a production with a capacity of up to 100 kilotonnes-per-annum (ktpa), he added in a joint statement by MIDA and OCIKUMHO on Aug 8.
He also said that following the commencement of construction in 2023, the test operation is scheduled to start in the first quarter of the following year in 2024. — DayakDaily
