Chief Minister: Sabah Could Be the Next Dubai
Kimanis Power Plant on Track
He said that the strategic
location of Sabah within
the Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines East Asean Growth Area
(BIMP-EAGA) is also a factor
spurring investment and
development growth in the
State.
The vision of making
Sabah the next “Dubai”
is achievable through
the continued close
partnership between the
State Government and
the manufacturing and
industrial sectors.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri
Musa Haji Aman said it is
important for Sabah to
evolve from relying on the
export of commodities to
sustain itself and turn to
downstream activities to
increase the production
of higher value added
products.
He said the trade fair plays
an important role towards
achieving this vision and is
the physical manifestation
of “globalisation of trade” by
providing the perfect stage
for the State to promote its
products and services at the
international level.
This is besides pushing
local businesses to reach
beyond their borders in
terms of marketing their
products and services or
to be exposed to various
opportunities that are not
available locally.
“I urge you to use this
opportunity to exchange
ideas, knowledge and
information, as well as to
take up potential business
prospects that you may be
interested in. All of these
play a part in contributing to
the development of Sabah
as the main destination for
trading, businesses and
investment,” he said.
He said this in his speech
delivered by Minister of
Special Duties Datuk Teo
Chee Kang at Hakka Hall,
Tanjung Lipat.
Lest it be said that the State
only provides lip service
to the proposed vision
of Sabah being the next
Dubai, he said the Sabah
Development Corridor
(SDC) which was launched
in 2008 leveraging on key
areas such as agriculture,
tourism and manufacturing,
worked out well under the
driving force of the Sabah
Economic Development
and Investment Authority
(SEDIA) which is tasked with
the primary responsibility
of planning, coordinating,
promoting and accelerating
the development of SDC.
“Under the 10th Malaysia
Plan, RM1.2 billion from the
RM3.024 billion allocated
to the State by the Federal
Government has been used
as of September; RM503.3
from the RM1.05 billion
approved State funding has
been spent; and RM1.313
billion from the RM1.541
billion funds allocated to
SEDIA have been disbursed.
Furthermore, the SDC has
reached RM116 billion total
committed investments
since its launch almost six
years ago,” he explained.
“The theme for this year
which is ‘Discover Sabah
for Business, Culture &
Nature’ fits its description,”
he said, adding that Sabah
is the second largest state in
Malaysia and is blessed with
many wonders of nature
besides being a melting pot
for 37 ethnic groups.
“The State Government is
clear about Sabah’s potential
as a thriving business and
trading hub in the region,
and has supported the
latest effort carried out by
the Federation of Sabah
Industries (FSI) in promoting
Sabah in the context of the
manufacturing sector to
turn the State into a hub
for the Far East and make
Sabah the next Dubai,” he
said.
He said Sabah has a
composition of positive
factors such as the
availability of petroleum
and gas, large oil palm
plantations, sawn timber
and plywood, and political
stability that allows holistic
development plans to be
carried out besides having
the qualities as one of the
favourite tourist spots in the
world.
“As part of the venture
in the implementation of
SDC projects such as Palm
Oil Industrial Clusters,
the Sabah Agro-Industrial
Precinct, Sandakan
Education Hub, Keningau
Integrated Livestock
Centre, the Sabah Oil and
Gas Terminal and other
projects, it is clear that the
State’s economic structure
is moving towards one that
is knowledge-intensive and
service-based,” he said.
Musa said due to this, local
entrepreneurs will have the
opportunity to collaborate
with international parties
by delving into technologyrelated businesses or to
gain knowledge on key areas
in the field of technology
that could benefit the local
economy.
Kimanis Power Plant
Kimanis power plant, a 300-megawatt combined
cycle gas turbine power plant in Papar, Sabah, is
on course for commissioning by June next year,
Petronas Gas Chief Executive Officer and Managing
Director Yusa Hassan said.
He said the pre-commissioning activities at the
RM1.5 billion gas-fired power plant had started
and is currently in the process of completing the
testing stages after the transmission lines have been
commissioned.
“The testing will take about five to six months before
we commercialise the power plant by May or June
2014, if everything goes well,” he said.
Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd, the owner and operator
of Kimanis power plant, is a 60:40 joint-venture
between Petronas Gas and NRG Consortium
(Sabah), the business arm of Yayasan Sabah Group,
respectively.
Yusa said the company would commission the plant,
which consists of three generating blocks with each
generating 100MW of power, block by block.
He said the company should be able to generate
all 300MW by the end of this year, but this would
depend on the transmission lines.
“At the moment the transmission line is only able
to cater for about 100MW. Once the 300MW
transmission lines are ready, then we are ready to
basically commercialise all this 300MW of power to
Sabah,” he said.
Yusa also said that gas pipeline from Sabah to
Sarawak would be commissioned in due course.
Meanwhile, he said the gas industry outlook, to some
extend, was similar to the demand for oil.
“We are actually fortunate that Malaysia is one of the
main exporters of natural gas. The