KUCHING, Nov 2: The Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Investment (Mintred) is developing 1,000 acres of land at Bintulu’s Samalaju Industrial Park for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with 100 acres expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Its Minister and Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan pointed out that this development is among several projects in the pipeline to expand and enhance Samalaju Industrial Park for further development and more economic opportunities.
“A portion of the development (100 acres) is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, and interested SMEs such as in the support services can contact my Ministry,” he said in his speech today.
Awang Tengah was representing Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to officiate the ground breaking ceremony for OCI Group and Korea Kumho Petro Chemical Group’s new RM1.7 billion plant at the Samalaju Industrial Park today.
To prepare the industrial park to meet increasing demand from investors, Awang Tengah said that Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) will undertake two infrastructure upgrading projects as well.
“One is to increase the water supply from 80 MLD (million litres per day) to 200 MLD by 2025.
“Second is to upgrade an existing coastal road within the park from single carriageway to dual carriageway,” he elaborated.
With more sophisticated and specialised requirements from existing and new investors, Awang Tengah said the port facilities at the industrial park would also need to be expanded and upgraded with latest and better facilities.
As Sarawak moved towards more sustainable and green development, he hoped to see Samalaju Industrial Park evolve into a liveable industrial park with proper landscaping, township and social amenities developed to co-exist with the manufacturing industries.
He also thanked OCI and Kumho for making Sarawak as one of their major operational hubs outside South Korea.
Meanwhile, the RM1.7 billion plant project will produce epichlorohydrin (ECH), which is an important raw material in the manufacture of epoxy used in coating application in all industrial fields, through hydroelectric power with bio-glycerin and natural salts.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Investment Datuk Dr Malcolm Mussen Lamoh, Deputy Minister of Port Development Dato Majang Renggi, Mintred advisor (SME) Datuk Mohamad Naroden Majais, OCI Group chairman Baik Woo Sug and Korea Kumho Petro Chemical Group chairman Park Chan Koo were present. — DayakDaily
