Work to start on $1.5b industrial park
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim

Bandar Seri Begawan - The industrial landscape of Brunei Darussalam is set to receive a major facelift with the commencement of the development of the Sungai Liang Industrial Park this year, an ambitious 271 hectare' area which will site "world class;" export industries and facilities.

Site preparations are due to begin this month on the partially cleared land, which adjoins the existing upstream gas refinery facilities in Mukim Liang in the Belait district. The works are likely to take 18 months to complete.

This will be first phase of the park's development, which is designed to host a number of large scale petrochemical projects. One of the first plants' to be established will be the methanol plant project, said Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Acting' Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDS).

The plant will be developed by the Brunei Methanol company, a joint venture company consisting of the Petroleum Brunei Petrochemical Company and its Japanese partners, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company and Itochu Corporation.

Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce about 850,000 tonnes of methanol annually and bring $500 million worth of investment, Dato Ong said.

Discussions are ongoing with foreign investors regarding other projects in the park. Investors from Australia and Japan have expressed their interest in establishing an ammonia/urea plant in Sungai Liang. If the project is approved, that plant would be "the largest fertiliser plant" in the world, Dato Ong went on to say. Another project under discussions with Malaysian potential investors is a biodiesel production plant, with raw materials garnered from the oil palm plantations in Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan. These projects, if carried out successfully, would bring in investments worth $1.5 billion and open up opportunities for trade, small and medium enterprises and employment.

He also expressed BEDB's ambition for the industrial park to be "a world class industrial park that will host several world class export industries"., However, it would not be possible without the support and cooperation of both public and private sectors and the community.

Dato Ong was speaking during the contract signing ceremony yesterday for the site preparation of the industrial park, officiated by the Minister of Development, Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar.

The contract was awarded to local contractor, Galfar Pembinaan dan Perusahaan.  -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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