News: The Last Frontier

News: Scrapping smelter deal: Taib’s political game

KUCHING: Global mining giant Rio Tinto PLC’s “pullout” from Sarawak may be temporary in view of the 13th general election, the uproar over Lynas in Pahang and the fact that Chief Minister Taib Mahmud has not been able to buy the Bakun Dam from the federal government.

Based on this reality, Sarawak DAP treasurer Violet Yong believes that “they might resume negotiations after the election”.

“Announcing the project [pullout by Rio Tinto] just before the general election is a political gimmick. Also, the reason for the termination is not because they did not agree to the purchase of the price of electricity.

“To me, one of the reasons is that the election is very near. And they [BN leaders] are worried that they will face the same consequences as that of Lynas.

“They have to wait, I think, until after the election; then only they will know whether Pakatan Rakyat takes over the government or not,” she said.

Taib yesterday said Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE) will not be affected by Rio Tinto’s decision to cancel its RM6.1 billion aluminium smelting project in the state.

“So, as far as Rio Tinto is concerned, they said the company is not going to go for the first phase only and is not going to participate at this stage because they do not want to be tied down,” Taib said.

Based on Taib’s comment that Rio Tinto is likely to return, Yong, who is the Pending assemblywoman, said that Taib could also be waiting to settle outstanding issues with the federal government over the Bakun Dam.

Polluted industry
“We know that Taib wants to buy the Bakun Dam, but Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has issued a statement that his administration will not sell it to Sarawak.

“We know there is a confrontation between the state and the federal governments. Is Sarawak using the back-door pressure (the termination of the agreement) to force the federal government to sell the Bakun Dam?

“To me, the smelter project is only benefiting the cronies of the state government and not the people of Sarawak and not the Malaysian people as a whole.

“We know that the Bakun Dam is a ‘white elephant’. With the cancellation of the aluminium smelting project, it makes the dam a bigger ‘white elephant’,” she added.

Yong said the only way to bring a “permanent closure” to the smelting plant deal is for Sarawakians to vote for Pakatan Rakyat.

“From the beginning until now, the DAP stand is always very firm: we are against the aluminium smelting plant because this is a very polluted industry and many countries have rejected such industry.

“The Barisan Nasional does not want us to use it as an issue in the coming general election,” Yong said.
DAP had used the issue in the last state election when its candidate, Chiew Chu Sing, trounced Sarawak
United People’s Party-BN candidate Henry Ling in the Kidurong seat with a 6,930- vote majority.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/03/29/scrapping-smelter-deal-taibs-political-game/

News: Two in queue to fill vacuum left by Rio Tinto

KUCHING: Sarawak remains upbeat about wooing more investors to the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) despite the withdrawal of Rio Tinto Aluminium (M) Sdn Bhd (Rio Tinto) from setting up a smelter plant at Samalaju.

Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan yesterday said the government would not incur any losses from the failed discussions as there were two other companies lining up to take over the project.

The companies, from China and the Middle East, are among the long list of investors keen to have a stake in SCORE.

Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial Development, said as of today four companies had commenced operations at the Samalaju Industrial Park (SIP), and another 20 firms had been given approval to operate there.

“After long discussions and negotiations (for the proposed smelter plant), unfortunately all parties failed to come to a commercial agreement with regards to the electricity tariff.

“However, we have a long line of takers who are ready to take up whatever excess power that we have.

“The state is not worried about (not getting) investment takers. The main worry now is having sufficient supply of power for the investors,” he told a press conference after officiating at Land and Survey
Department’s ‘Innovation and Integrity Day’ at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel here.

Also present were Assistant Minister of Resource Planning Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, its Permanent Secretary Datu Sudarsono Othman, and state Land and Survey director Sajeli Kipli.

Awang Tengah said most of the power from the first bloc of Bakun dam and other hydro dams were already committed to investors in SCORE.

The failed discussions between CMS and Rio Tinto with regards to the proposed smelter project after several years of discussions headlined the local media news yesterday.

CMS, in a statement, said the termination involved heads of agreement between Rio Tinto and Samalaju Aluminium Industries Sdn Bhd, its wholly-owned unit, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between both parties and Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB).

Both companies had been in communication for several years to establish an aluminium smelter plant, but were unable to finalise the kind of commercial power supply terms with SEB which would meet the parties’ respective financial considerations and economic imperatives.

CMS Group managing director Datuk Richard Curtis said the company remained committed to being a leading local private sector participant in SCORE.

CMS currently undertakes a 20 per cent participation in the planned 600,000 metric tonnes manganese and ferro alloy smelter which is scheduled to begin production next year.

“This smelter is being established in SIP by a subsidiary of OM Holdings Ltd, an Australian listed miner, manufacturer and trader of manganese, iron and chrome ores and alloys,” he said.

It also involved the provision of accommodation and other related services to workers within SIP as well as in the master developer role for the planned township to adjoin the park.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/29/two-in-queue-to-fill-vacuum-left-by-rio-tinto/#ixzz1qSy8uigh

News: Parties disagree on tariff for power purchase agreement

KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) yesterday revealed that Rio Tinto Aluminium (M) Sdn Bhd (RTA) had pulled out from the pact on the proposed aluminium smelter plant at Samalaju Industrial Park as both parties could not agree on the price of electricity.

Its chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjøtveit said: “SEB has negotiated with Rio Tinto/Salco (Sarawak Aluminium Company) in good faith. We are disappointed to be unable to find a mutually acceptable solution, but the parties’ positions on the price of electricity were just too far apart.”

SEB said there was strong demand for Sarawak’s energy and despite that Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) agenda was forging ahead despite the inability to reach agreement with Rio Tinto/Salco.

The new aluminium smelter of another company, Press Metal, on track to commence operation by June this year, will take 480 megawatts.

The construction of other plants is advanced.

The strength of customer demand proves that Sarawak’s renewable hydroelectric power is valuable to energy-intensive industries from around the globe.

“While we regret that an agreement was not possible with Rio Tinto/Salco, I am certain that all the power that could have been allocated to Rio Tinto/Salco will find another willing buyer,” he said.

SEB is a holding company that is 100 per cent owned by the state government of Sarawak. It has, for more than 70 years, provided electricity to more than 500,000 customers in Sarawak through wholly-owned subsidiary, Sesco.

The state government has given SEB a mandate to develop the state’s abundant energy resources to benefit Sarawak’s community.

SEB, which has plans to develop up to 10 new power stations and supporting transmission infrastructure, will become the leading producer of renewable energy in South East Asia. This is the foundation of the government’s broader economic development strategy for SCORE.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/29/parties-disagree-on-tariff-for-power-purchase-agreement/#ixzz1qSxR2LTZ

News: Smelter plant scrapped

KUALA LUMPUR: CMS, Rio Tinto agree to terminate deal to set up aluminium smelter plant in Samalaju.
Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) and Rio Tinto Aluminium (M) Sdn Bhd (RTA) have terminated the pact on the proposed Sarawak smelter project after several years of discussions.

In a statement here yesterday, CMS said the termination involved heads of agreement between RTA and Samalaju Aluminium Industries Sdn Bhd, its wholly-owned unit, and the memorandum of understanding between both parties and Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB).

CMS group managing director, Datuk Richard Curtis, said CMS and RTA had been working for several years to establish an aluminium smelter project but were unable to finalise commercial power supply terms with SEB which would meet the parties’ current respective financial considerations and economic imperatives.

“As a result, RTA and CMS have agreed that they would cease to pursue plans to jointly develop an aluminium smelter at Samalaju in Sarawak but remain open to other future possible collaborations,” he said.

However, Curtis said, CMS remained committed to being a leading local private sector participant in Sarawak’s Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE).

CMS said currently, it has taken a 20 per cent participation in the planned 600,000 metric tonnes manganese and ferro alloy smelter which is scheduled to commence production next year.

“This smelter is being established in Samalaju Industrial Park (SIP) by a subsidiary of OM Holdings Ltd, an Australian-listed miner, manufacturer and trader of manganese, iron and chrome ores and alloys,” it said.

It said it was also involved in the provision of accommodation and other related services to workers within SIP as well as in the master developer role for the planned township to adjoin SIP.

“CMS remains very bullish about investment opportunities within SCORE and is assessing the potential of other possible major industrial investment opportunities within SIP.” — Bernama


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/28/smelter-plant-scrapped/#ixzz1qSwxjjoh

Web: Backing Out Of Bakun – Rio Tinto Pulls Out!

The question marks over Taib’s pet mega-project, the billion dollar Bakun Dam, have just multiplied into a full-blown crisis for the so-called ‘CEO of Sarawak’.

The global mining company, Rio Tinto Alcan, has just announced that it is pulling out of the much-touted aluminium smelter venture, SALCO.

This was the flagship project, that was supposed to form the backbone of Taib’s plans to employ the huge surge of hydro-electricity from this enormous structure.

And it leaves the whole fantasy of the Chief Minister’s SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Energy) concept and his plans to build yet 12 more huge dams hanging in tatters.

Bakun is fast turning into the monstrous white elephant that many had long feared it would.

So much suffering for no use


Floating homes - the Ukip people have returned to their flooded homelands rather than suffer displacement in refugee settlements
Over past weeks and months Sarawak Report has detailed some of the suffering and harm caused by the dam to ordinary people of Sarawak and Malaysia.

Quite apart from the environmental devastation caused by the logging and flooding of a pristine jungle area the size of Singapore and the disruption to the life of Sarawak’s greatest river, the project has brought nothing but misery to the local people.

Ten thousand were forced from their homes, in return for promises of compensation and jobs, which turned into dust once the land had been cleared.

Life is so bleak in the re-settlement zones that many of the native people have chosen to return to their old lands, clinging to the banks of the rising dam waters in their now floating homes.


While people suffered, local MP Billy Abit Joo profited !
And as we have exposed, many of the jobs and contracts presented as opportunities for local communities, were in fact corruptly taken over by hangers on and BN political cronies of the area, like the Federal MP Billy Abit Joo, who has became the main shareholder and beneficiary of the so-called ‘people’s cooperative’ Wargana Consortium.

Sarawak Report and other NGOs have been vigorously drawing attention to these outrages and such information will not have gone un-noticed by a company such as Rio Tinto Alcan, which is sensitive to the views of its western shareholders when it comes to human rights and environmental issues.

Why did Rio Tinto Alcan really pull out of SALCO?

The reason given for Rio Tinto Alcan’s decision to pull out of the planned US$2billion smelter was politely described as a failure to come to an agreement over the price of the electricity being offered from the Bakun Dam.

This is probably indeed a large part of the reason.  The conglomerate was tempted to pull out of its existing operations such as Canada, the UK and Australia as long as it could be guaranteed dirt free electricity.  However, what benefit was that to the people of Sarawak?


Key players in the SALCO project were Taib, Robert Geneid and CMS's Richard Curtis
The point of the dam was to make money!

In fact there is an urgent need to make money from Bakun, in order to somehow pay back the billions that have been siphoned out of the Employees Provident Fund and other Malaysian government pension schemes to build it.

If Bakun cannot get a decent price for its electricity, then those pensioners will lose out.

With the prospects looking grimmer by the day the ‘CEO of Sarawak’ and his BN buddies in the Federal Government are surely at last beginning to realise why no private investors were prepared to touch the project!


Failure! - Key players like CMS's Richard Curtis had put their hopes on winning this key project that would have poured money into Taib's family company!
So, maybe Rio Tinto Alcan’s demands for virtually free electricitywere too much even for Taib and his desperate team lead by brother-in-law, Robert Geneid, and CMS CEO, Richard Curtis, who had invested all their hopes in winning this bid?

Corruption!


We exposed how Australian Commissioner Miles Kupa had worked tirelessly to promote the Rio Tinto bid, despite its corrupt nature and the fact that it would undermine jobs in his own country! Did he think twice?
But, we suspect there was an even more compelling reason for Rio Tinto Alcan to come to the swift conclusion that they shouldn’t be touching Sarawak and its dodgy Chief Minister and his clique of BN cronies and family hangers-on with a barge pole.

That reason was the over-whelming stench of corruption that no amount of sweet talk and cover-up could conceal!

Sarawak Report comprehensively exposed the full scandal behind Taib’s plans to personally make billions out of the SALCO venture just last month.

Australian High Commissioner, Miles Kupa, may have been dragged in to support the bid and Rio Tinto Alcan executives may have flown into Kuching just a fortnight earlier to continue negotiations. However, once the cat was out of the bag that Sarawak’s own Chief Minister was standing to make hundreds of millions, if not billions, out of the carefully crafted deal, how could such supposedly respectable entities continue to be involved?


What use now for all Bakun's electricity? Maybe free electricity for the people of Sarawak!?
Sarawak Report received no response or comment from Rio Tinto Alcan or the Australian High Commissioner from its exposes into their involvement in the corrupted SALCO project, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.

This was not a project that RTA were going to find easy to explain to their shareholders.

Questions still remain about how it was that RTA were still actively negotiating on this clearly corrupted project as late as January this year?

This was long, long after company executives had realised that this was not a joint venture with the State of Sarawak, but with the family firm of the Chief Minister of Sarawak CMS!

More dams!


Sarawak's shame - refugees of Bakun. Taib might not care, but could Rio Tinto Alcan put up with this stain on their image as they profited from the dam?
And yet Taib Mahmud and his BN cronies are still forging ahead with all their plans to build a whole new swathe of dams once they have got the next election out of the way!

Another half million people flooded from their lands (once the wood has been conveniently extracted and the profits divided amongst them).  Why, when there is no use for the electricity?  Why, when neither the Bakun Dam nor even the far older Batang Ai dam are turning even half their turbines most of the time?

The reason is of course, as always, the prospect of profit for Taib Mahmud, who plans to borrow billions for these projects and for SCORE.  Billions of dollars that can be poured into his companies as he gets them involved in all the contracts for building the dams and involving foreign companies in cheap electricity projects (like the doomed SALCO venture).

It is the people of Sarawak who will have to find the money to pay all this borrowing back and they are unlikely to have any profit from these useless dams to help them.

So much for BN’s CEO of Sarawak!

Source: http://www.sarawakreport.org/2012/03/backing-out-of-bakun-rio-tinto-pulls-out/

Web: Mining cancellation throws wrench into Sarawak dam-building spree

Bakun dam during construction. Photo by: Mohamad Shoox.


The world's third largest mining company, Rio Tinto, and a local financial and construction firm, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), have cancelled plans for a $2 billion aluminum smelter to be constructed in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The cancellation calls into question Sarawak's plan to build a dozen massive dams—known as the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiative—that were proposed, in part, to provide power to the massive aluminum smelter. However, the mega-dam proposal has been heavily criticized for its impact on Sarawak's rivers, rainforest and indigenous people.

Rio Tinto and CMS stated that the project had been dropped because power supply terms could not be agreed on. The smelter would have produced 1.5 million tons of aluminum annually. According to Jacynthe Cote, chief executive of Rio Tinto's Alcan aluminum division, there were no hard feelings over the cancellation.

"Looking into the future, we remain interested in development opportunities that may arise within the state and the country," he said.

Beyond the internal decisions, the cancellation immediately puts Sarawak's dam building plans under new scrutiny. After long delays and cost overruns, one of the dozen dams has already been completed, the 2,400 megawatt Bakun dam. The dam reportedly displaced around 10,000 indigenous people and flooded 70,000 hectares of rainforest (about the size of Singapore). By itself, the Bakun dam produces twice as much power as the entire state of Sarawak. Despite this, a second dam, the 900 megawatt Murum dam, is currently under construction.

Sarawak's government, under Abdul Taib Mahmud or "Taib", has been aggressively pushing implementation of the SCORE plan and fending off criticism, stating that the state would need the additional power for the Rio Tinto-CMS smelter.

"Rio Tinto's decision [to cancel the smelter] proves that the Taib government's irresponsible economic policies have completely failed. There is no need to build another twelve dams in the state as envisaged by the Taib government," reads a statement from the Bruno Manser Fund, a group that works with indigenous people in Sarawak. "All these corruption-driven dam plans that would only benefit the Taib family's construction companies must come tho a halt now."

Local opposition against the dams has been fierce. Last fall indigenous groups, local people, and domestic NGOs established the Save Sarawak's Rivers Network in order to fight the dams. In addition, hundreds of land lawsuits have been filed against the proposed dams.

The Bruno Manser Fund is calling on the Sarawak government to stop construction on the Murum dam and cancel all other dam projects.


Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0327-hance_sarawak_aluminum_cancel.html#ixzz1qNxvQxIO

News: Statistics show SCORE won’t benefit locals

 

KUCHING:  If the labour force survey statistics for 2008-2011 is any yardstick then Taib Mahmud’s  much touted Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE) will be of no benefit to locals least of all the indigenous communities who will be left far behind.

According to Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian the figures from the Department of Statistics  don’t offer any  indications that locals will enjoy the fruits from SCORE.

“This is because SCORE will need highly skilled labour force, and our people, especially those in the rural areas have little opportunities to complete their school studies and go on to tertiary level.

“From the labour force survey (2008-2010) of the Department of Statistics, out of Sarawak’s labour force, only 17% or 166,175 people have any form of post secondary education,” he said.

He added that even the projected figures for the labour force were dismal.

He pointed out that according to the ‘projections’ for 2011,  the number of ‘labour force with post secondary education’  would amount to 150,690 of which the Malay-Melanau comprise 33.4% and the Chinese 39.49%.

“The Ibans makeup only 15.50%  while the Bidayuh comprise 7.19% and the Orang Ulu only 4.38% of labour force with post secondary education.

“From the statistics above, clearly, our people, especially the indigenous people are in no position to take on the jobs that are purportedly going to be created by SCORE,” said Bian who is Ba Kelalan assemblyman.

He was commenting on recent reports here highlighting the plight of Sarawakian workers in Singapore and the loss of millions of ringgit from the state due to illegal foreign workers.

Raise education standards

He said state Minister Fatimah Abdullah’s comment that SCORE would create 290,880 jobs by 2015 and with the likelihood of this increasing to 662,065 jobs by 2020 was insignificant to Sarawakians who were ill-equipped to participate in the progress.

“Fatimah Abdullah said that the state has only 25% highly skilled workers to date and that by the year 2015, SCORE is expected to create some 290,880 jobs that would increase to 662,065 jobs by 2020.

“This is significantly higher than the figure from the Department of Statistics for 2008-2010.

“We will need around twice the number of skilled workers than will be available from the whole of our labour force.

“The government is actually looking at importing foreign labour to fill these vacancies.

“How is SCORE going to benefit the people, if this is the scenario?” asked Bian, pointing out that the state needed to refocus on the very basic foundation of a successful and vibrant society which is developing its education system.

He said poor education policies and amenities were the root cause of low education levels in the state.

“A PR (Pakatan Rakyat) government will ensure that every child is given the opportunity to further his or her studies.

“We will raise standards of teaching, provide training opportunities for teachers, and provide better and more vocational training for school leavers,” he said.

Better wages needed

On a related issue,  Bian reasoned that foreigners worked mainly in plantations and construction sites “owned or controlled” by Taib’s relatives, his cronies, Barisan Nasional politicians and their families and friends.

“They take the land from the locals for plantations, and then to add insult to injury, offer the lowest wages (around RM18 per day), which is grossly insufficient to sustain even one person, let alone a family.

On claims that Sarawakians were choosy with jobs Bian said that it was inevitable.

“We cannot blame the (our) people for not wanting these jobs. They have to go to West Malaysia, Singapore and further abroad to make a living.

“The point is that our people cannot even earn a living on the wages being offered here. Why should they just be content on earning a living?

“We should want them to thrive and prosper. The Indonesians live the most frugal lives here so that they can send to their families the little that they make.

“Our people have families to support, and hence have to seek greener pastures outside of Sarawak,” he said, pointing out that there are 112,209 legal foreign workers in Sarawak.

“That means there are 112, 209 jobs that could be given to locals, if they are paid decent wages which they can live on.

“Currently, money generated from plantations and construction projects end up in Indonesia as remittances of the labourers or in the pockets of those who steal from and cheat the rural people, ” he said.

He said the solution now is to raise the wages sufficiently so that people can have enough to live on comfortably and to aim for better futures for their children, instead of just struggling to eke out a living.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/03/17/statistics-show-score-wont-benefit-locals/

Web: Samalaju Industrial Park and Tanjung Manis Halal Hub set standards for SCORE

Source: http://investvine.com/samalaju-industrial-park-and-tanjung-manis-halal-hub-set-standards-for-score/

Samalaju Industrial Park and Tanjung Manis Halal Hub set standards for SCORE

Posted by Thar on December 19, 2011 in Economy & Monetary, Infrastructure | 0 Comment

The Samalaju Industrial Park and Tanjung Manis Halal Hub are the two central zones in the SCORE initiative. The two regions are leading the way in terms of on-going projects and are expected to fuel further investments in Sarawak’s overall economic development plan.

Of all the activities and developments taking place within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), two bustling areas have emerged as cornerstones of the entire project.

The Samalaju Industrial Park (SIP) in Bintulu and the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub in the western-most part of the Corridor are expected to enjoy the highest density of investment from foreign and domestic interests.

Since the launch of SCORE in 2008, both zones have pushed ahead with their respective development agendas, bolstered by investments and pledges from some of the biggest players in their sectors.

The two regions cater to vastly different businesses. SIP is dedicated to heavy and energy intensive industries while TMHH focus on food security, agriculture and halal products. However, both are working in unison to help Sarawak achieve its goal of becoming a developed state by 2020.

SIP is a 7,000-hectare area on the coast of Bintulu dedicated to energy-intensive heavy industry and under the jurisdiction of the Bintulu Development Authority.

The Park will house companies engaged in aluminium smelters, steel, oil refineries, silica-based industries, marine engineering and other industrial and commercial activities.

A dedicated port will be developed inside the SIP to transport raw materials and produce. In addition, Bintulu Port, which is being upgraded to meet the expected demands of industries in the area, will provide another sea route in and out of the Park with massive cargo capability.

The production of aluminium, for which global demand is expected to rise four per cent, will have a strong presence at SIP with three separate projects eventually producing about 1.3 million tonnes a year.

The biggest one is a US$1 billion plant in a joint venture between Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad and Rio Tinto Alcan, producing 720,000 tonnes. The Aluminium Corporation of China and a Malaysian group led by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary and UAE business leader Mohammed Ali Rasheed Alabbar are building a US$1.6 billion smelter with production capacity of 370,000 while local company Press Metal Bintulu have received financing and have starting building a 240,000 capacity plant.

Two manganese smelters will also be established in Samalaju. Hong Kong’s Asia Minerals Ltd is keen to build a RM3 billion factory while Cahya Mata Sarawak is teaming up with Australia’s OM Holdings for manganese and ferro silicon allow plant.

Japan’s Tokuyama Corporation is spending more than RM6 billion for two polycrystalline silicon factories with an eventual annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes.

TMHH will cover close to 80,000 hectares of fertile agricultural land. It is hoped that the Hub will develop to be one of the most scientifically and environmentally advanced halal centres in the world via the use of advanced technologies, renewable energy and sustainable practices.

The first international company to invest in TMHH was Taiwan-based Sea Party International. Together with its subsidiaries, SPI has pledged RM$2 billion in phases. The first phase involved spending RM318 million for aquaculture activities such as tilapia breeding, chlorella cultivation and production of Halal collagen and gelatine. The second phase moves into the production of gelatine from tilapia scales, bones and skin, organic prawn farming and vendor development programmes.

The group has already started construction of its RM30 million research centre in Tanjung Manis.

Bahrain-based BioMe has also visited the site with a view to invest in sustainable and profitable biotech industries in TMHH.

During the Invest Malaysia Forum 2011 in Abu Dhabi in January, TMHH owners, Tanjung Manis Food & Industrial Park Sdn Bhd signed three MoUs that that could rake in millions of dollars’ worth of investments from the Middle East.

The first agreement was between Tanjung Manis Food & Industrial Park Sdn Bhd and Inside Investor to facilitate investments from the GCC into TMHH. The Malaysian company also signed with New York-based Borneo Agriculture to set up a US$500 million fund from GVC to invest in the hub. Perigon Advisory WLL also signed on to establish a RM3 billion Food & Agriculture Fund for Islamic countries. 

News: Investments flow into Samalaju Industrial Park

FAMILARISATION TOUR: Aloysius (fifth from right) leading the media group and Azam members to the Tokuyama plant.

FOUR companies are readying the infrastructures to build factories on an 8,000-hectare site at Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu.

Tokuyama Corp, Press Metal Berhad, Asia Minerals Ltd and OM Holdings Ltd (OMH) are giving local skilled and semi-skilled workers a welcome boost with a stream of road-building and water-electricity supply projects to support the industries they are setting up in the area.

The idea is to locate heavy and energy-intensive industries away from Bintulu town and the populated areas, and the site — 62km from Bintulu Central Business District and accessible via Bintulu-Miri coastal road — at Park is ideal for this, according Liang Yew Chi, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) senior manager (development).

Making a presentation to an Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) group, led by its chief executive officer, Dato Aloysius Dris, and the local media at the project site in Samalaju under AZAM’s ‘60 minutes with the CEO’ programme, Liang said the investors were also provided with abundant resources as the area was connected directly to power transmission lines from the Bakun HEP and the Murum HEP.

He disclosed that a deep seaport, which was a prerequisite for the metal smelting industry, would also be built in Samalaju.

Aloysius later led the group on a tour of the Press Metal construction site in Bintulu and the aluminium smelting plant in Samalaju.

Earlier, the group were in Mukah together with Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) chief executive officer Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot. Accompanying them were Recoda’s head project manager Dawend Jiwan, its chief investment officer Kamil Daniel Yap and Bintulu Deputy Resident (development) Sirai Daha.

First foreign investor

Japan’s Tokuyama Corp — the first foreign investor at Samalaju Industrial Park — is setting up a RM2.36 billion plant to produce polycrystalline silicon for solar panels. Production is expected to come on stream next year.

According to a spokesman, the company, formed in 1918, has ventured into the production of organic and inorganic chemicals, cement, building materials, electronic materials, advanced materials, plastic resins, films and medical-related products.

As of March 31, 2011, it employed 5,493 workers and consisted of some 83 group companies.

Meanwhile, Tokuyama Malaysia Sdn Bhd was set up on Aug 18, 2009. Phase one of its plant in Samalaju is expected to produce 6,200 tonnes of industrial materials annually with 13,800 tonnes forecast for phase two.

Present at the brief presentation on the company were its Bintulu branch general manager Waichi Ide, senior officers and engineers.

Waichi said the first phase of the construction would cost about 80 billion yen (RM3.2 billion) and employ 350 local workers while phase two would cost about 130 billion yen (RM5.2 billion) and employ 250 workers.

The commercial operations will start in the second quarters of 2013 and 2014 for phases one and two respectively.

“Tokuyama chose to build a primary overseas production site in Malaysia because of the competitive cost, the abundant hydropower in Sarawak and the available cutting edge technology.

“We are targetting 10 per cent share in the poly-silicon market for PV. As pricing has become significantly more competitive, we have decided to make a big investment (accumulated US$2.6 billion) in Malaysia.

“We can survive globally with our competitive edge,” Waichi added.

The company expects to receive industrial water from the Public Works Department and LAKU in May this year and 132KV from Sesco in June.

Several phases

Press Metal Bhd, which operates an aluminium smelter plant in Mukah Division within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) has started phase two of its expansion programme at the Park under its wholly-owned subsidiary Press Metal Bintulu Sdn Bhd.

This will be developed over several phases, and the new smelter will have an estimated production capacity of 240,000 tonnes per year.

Asia Minerals Limited (AML) is expected to be ready by May 2013 at the Park.

On the manufacturing front, AML will start ramping up first phase production in June 2013 and by June the following year, it will be able to produce 240,000 tonnes of manganese ferroalloy and ferrosilicon annually.

The second phase is scheduled to start in July 2014 and its production of ferrosilicon, silicon metal and electrolytic manganese metal ferrosilicon, silicon metal and electrolytic manganese metal is expected to reach 95,000 tonnes per year by June 2015.

In steel production, AML is planning to come up with a full range of ferroalloy and high value manganese items such as silicomanganese, low carbon silicomanganese, medium and low carbon ferromanganese, silicon metal, ferrosilicon and electrolytic manganese metal.

OM Holdings Ltd (OMH), which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and Asia Mineral Ltd will both set up a manganese smelter under the SCORE initiative.

OMH’s proposed smelter will have the capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes of manganese ferroalloys and 300,000 tonnes of ferrosilicon alloys per year while Asia Minerals targets an annual production capacity of 400,000 tonnes.

Exclusive negotiations

OMH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Syarikat SESCo Bhd (owned by Sarawak Energy Bhd) to enter into exclusive negotiations on a long-term power (500MW) purchase agreement for its proposed smelter.

Explaining the Samalaju water supply scheme, Recoda’s head project management Dawend Jiwan said about
36.6 million litres per day (MLD) of raw water was required by the four investors by 2013, and 5MLD would be distributed to industries in Samalaju, the proposed Samalaju new township and nearby coastal villages.

He said Press Metal would require 0.6MLD, Tokuyama (23MLD), Asia Minerals Limited (20MLD) and OMH 8MLD. By 2015, raw water requirement will be 86MLD.

SCORE is one of the five regional corridors being developed throughout the country.

It’s a major initiative to develop the Central Region and transform Sarawak into a developed state by 2020 and it aims to achieve the goals of accelerating the state’s economic growth and development, as well as improving the quality of life of the people of Sarawak.

SCORE’s core assets are its energy resources (28,000 MW), particularly hydropower (20,000 MW), coal (5,000 MW) and others (3,000 MW).

These will allow Sarawak to price its energy products competitively and encourage investments in power generation and energy-intensive industries that will act as triggers for the development of a vibrant industrial development in the corridor.

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/01/22/investments-flow-into-samalaju-industrial-park/