By Shikin Louis
KOTA SAMARAHAN, Aug 13: Construction of the Sarawak Bioindustrial Park (SBP) Central Hub, the first phase of a 100-acre integrated bioindustry hub in Kota Samarahan, is set to be completed within 24 months.
Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the project would provide the industrial platform needed to turn Sarawak’s biodiversity research into commercial products for the international market.
“This park should be the park that concentrates on the application of the technology that we got from our Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) and produce it for the international market,” he said in his speech at the foundation laying and exchange of agreements ceremony for SBP here today.
He said the establishment of SBP was timely given the projected growth of the global biotechnology market, which Fortune Business Insights estimates will rise from USD1.5 trillion in 2026 to USD4.3 trillion by 2034.
Abang Johari said Sarawak had a significant advantage over countries such as Switzerland and Singapore because of its abundant biodiversity resources, while those countries had built their biotechnology and biomedical industries largely on technological strength.
“Switzerland hasn’t got much resources if you compare with our biodiversity, but Switzerland is very strong in technology.
“And even our neighbour, Singapore, hasn’t got any resources. But Singapore is in the forefront in producing healthcare, drugs and a lot of products that are used by society, and they even export their products outside,” he said.
He pointed to Singapore’s biomedical research activities in Tuas, where resources sourced elsewhere could be processed and developed into products in Singapore.
“Although they have to import the resources from somewhere else, the processing makes it a Singapore product,” he said.
Abang Johari said Sarawak should similarly move beyond researching its biological resources and develop the industrial capacity to process them into products locally.
“Sarawak is a big State, with a lot of forests and a lot of resources, yet we are still like this. That is why we initiated the Bioindustrial Park,” he said.
He said research could continue to be carried out at the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), while SBP would provide the platform to take successful research outcomes into industrial production.
Meanwhile, Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn described SBP as a platform to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and commercialisation.
“Research only creates value when knowledge can be translated into solutions that benefit society. One of the greatest challenges faced by many research institutions worldwide is bridging the gap between scientific discovery and commercialisation,” he said.
Sagah said SBP, championed by Abang Johari as a catalytic project under the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, was designed to allow promising bio-innovations to move beyond laboratory research and become commercially viable products.
“In other words, the SBP is where promising bio-innovations can mature beyond laboratory research and become commercially viable products,” he said.
The Central Hub will serve as the core facility within the 100-acre masterplan, providing shared research laboratories, pilot-scale processing facilities, collaborative workspaces and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant manufacturing support.
These facilities are intended to allow start-ups, researchers and established companies to validate technologies, scale production and meet regulatory requirements without having to make substantial upfront investments in specialised infrastructure.
The park will focus on five sectors, namely bioactives, biohealth, biomaterials, bioenergy and bioenvironmental solutions.
Among the targeted applications are functional foods, fragrances and flavourings, health supplements, pharmaceuticals, bio-based polymers and biocomposites, sustainable fuels and bioremediation.
Eight strategic collaboration agreements and memoranda of understanding were also exchanged during the ceremony between BioVerde Technologies Sdn Bhd (BVT) and industry partners.
These cover areas including pharmaceutical-grade healthcare products, black soldier fly bioconversion, functional food manufacturing, cellular and regenerative biofoundries, value-added sago products, certification and traceability, as well as industrial standards and testing.
Among the collaborations, CRAUN Research Sdn Bhd will establish a functional food facility focused on value-added sago applications, while Twin Catalyst Sdn Bhd is exploring a pharmaceutical-grade production facility for healthcare products.
BVT, a subsidiary of the Sarawak Biodiversity Council, will manage and operate SBP and support the commercialisation of research outcomes generated by Sarawak’s research agencies.
Among those present were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian; Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah; Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn; Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapa’ee; Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; and Deputy Speaker of Sarawak Legislative Assembly and Muara Tuang assemblyman Datuk Idris Buang. — DayakDaily
