KUCHING, Jan 23 — Sarawak has to expand its downstream value-adding petrochemical industries if it is to continue to prosper, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said today.
He said the Borneo state has Malaysia’s largest reserve of natural gas in the country at 54 per cent and one-third of oil reserves, but it cannot rely on exports of the limited natural resource in its raw form to sustain growth.
“Two of such initiatives currently being planned are the methanol and ammonia and their derivatives projects in Bintulu,” he said at the International Energy Week here.
Awang Tengah who is also Sarawak industrial and entrepreneur development minister also said Bintulu has the infrastructure to become the regional hub for petrochemical industries.
“The setting up of Petroleum Sarawak Berhad signifies the state seriousness in that direction,” he said.
He said Sarawak is also endowed with many big river systems with vast untapped renewable hydro power of 20,000 megawatts (MW), adding that 14 economically viable sites for dams construction have been identified and capable of generating 8,000 MW of electricity.
“The construction of these hydro power dams depends on future demand of energy,” he said, adding that the state has already invested heavily on dams.
Awang Tengah said the state government has acquired the 2,400MW Bakun Dam from the federal government at a cost of RM8.1 billion and constructed 944MW Murum Dam at a cost of RM4.1 billion.
“Currently, the RM8 billion Baleh Dam with an installed capacity of RM1,285MW is under construction and should be commissioned by 2025,” he said.
