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03 Feb 2012
Devt momentum in Samalaju Industrial Estate picks up
KUCHING: The development of Samalaju Industrial Estate is gaining
momentum with two ports — Samalaju Port and Bintulu Port — connecting by
end of this year.
And a town, which
is now being planned, would be developed around the industrial estate,
while building of infrastructure is also progressing well.
“From a
thick forest 20 years ago, Samalaju is now progressing well to become
an industrial estate and we (state government) are aggressively building
the necessary infrastructure,” Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib
Mahmud said.
Taib expressed optimism that the state would be able
to build the infrastructure, having built many infrastructure projects
in the past.
He was speaking at a signing ceremony for the power
purchase agreement (PPA) between Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and OM
Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd at Four Points Hotel here yesterday.
SEB
was represented by its chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjotveit,
and OM Materials by executive chairman Low Ngee Tong, while Taib
witnessed.
Taib said Samalaju Industrial Estate, with an area of
10 miles by seven miles, would cater for heavy industries to positively
prepare the state for more economic development.
The chief
minister said the shift towards heavy industries was a “game change” for
the state, after engaging itself aggressively in oil palm plantations.
“Although
we (state) are new in heavy industries, I see no reason not to try it,”
Taib pointed out, adding that the state had enough power supply to
cater for the needs of heavy industries.
In view of this, Taib
welcomed more investors to Samalaju Industrial Estate, saying: “We will
embrace you (investors) with open arms, and provide the necessary
infrastructure.”
He assured investors that the state would be able
to meet their needs for technical staff, adding that the state was
making the shift towards producing more technical manpower, working with
both public and private institutions of higher learning.
According
to him, the institutions aimed to produce sufficient technical manpower
in the next 20 years to cater for the development of Sarawak Corridor
of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
He stressed that SCORE would be fully developed within the next 20 years.
Assistant
Minister of Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications) Datuk
Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Water
Supply) Datuk Sylvester Entri Muran and State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohd
Morshidi Abdul Ghani were among the people present during the event.
Borneo Post - Friday/February 3, 2012
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