PM officiates ground-breaking of RM2bil plant in Terengganu

Monday, 08 October 2012, 10:23

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Saturday officiated at the groundbreaking of the RM2 billion integrated bio-methionine and theochemicals plant, a tie-up between South Korea's CJ ChielJedang (CJ) and France's Arkema, in Terengganu.

The plant, being built at the Kertih BioPolymer Park in Kertih is the world's first facility to use the fermentation process in making L-methionine, an amino acid used in the production of animal feed. The manufacturing process allows for the use of various biomass feedstocks, including from woodchips and oil palm empty fruit bunches.

The bio-methionine plant will be developed by CJ while Arkema will develop a thiochemicals platform, which is scheduled to be operational by December 2013. The following year, the plant will be producing some 80,000 tonnes of bio-methionine a year.

The project is expected to generate an accumulative gross national income of RM20.4 billion by 2020 and create 2,500 jobs.

CJ CheilJedang President and Chief Executive Officer, Kim Chul Ha said the group picked Terengganu to set up its plant as the state has a secure supply of woodchips as well as cost- the competitive utilities, tax incentives and good infrastructure. In addition, in Malaysia there is a respect for private property and intellectual property rights, he added.

On the joint venture project, Arkema Executive Vice-President, Marc Schuller said the tie-up enables Arkema to set up its first thiochemicals industrial plant in Asia and soon the company will produce other high value added thiochemicals besides the methyl mercaptan.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Najib said the investment reflected foreign investors' confidence in Malaysia as their prime investment destination, adding that Malaysia was able to attract some RM13 billion in foreign direct investments during the first quarter of the year.

Also present at the event were Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said; France's Ambassador to Malaysia, Martine Dorance; ECER Council (ECERC) Chief Executive 0fficer, Datuk Jebasingam Issace John and Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal.

Source: New Sunday Times