Joint venture plans RM140m biodiesel plant in Sabah

Joint venture plans RM140m biodiesel plant in Sabah

 

A BRITISH-Malaysian joint venture will invest RM140 million to set up a biodiesel plant at the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

 

This was disclosed by representatives of the partners, Kuala Lumpur-based Zurex Corp Sdn Bhd and UK-based Biofutures International plc, at a meeting with State Industrial Development Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin in Kota Kinabalu recently.

 

The meeting came at the end of two days of intensive discussions with officials of state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd to finalise details of the joint-venture company's entry into the Lahad Datu POIC.

 

A signing ceremony is expected to be held next month to seal the joint-venture company's purchase of a 70ha site at the cluster.

 

The joint-venture company received its biodiesel manufacturing licence from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry last month.

 

Biofutures International chairman Nicholas Gee and executive chairman Iain Young told Ebin that development plans for the site will be submitted in the next few months.

 

The plant, which will use tested German technology, will have an installed capacity of 200,000 metric tonnes annually.

 

It is also expected to produce a substantial quantity of glycerine, a valuable by-product used in soaps, cosmetic products and many other industrial applications.

 

When in full operation, the plant was expected to employ about 60 workers.

 

The funding for the project was expected to be raised through public offer of Biofutures International's shares on the London Stock Exchange.