Bolkiah (2nd left) receiving a memento from Pang after officiating and announcing the formation of the Pellet Association Malaysia.
TAWAU: Sabah is capable of producing around 30 million tonnes of wet oil palm biomass annually while a study has shown that it is also able to move up to 12.69 million tonnes of dry biomass matter for downstream use.
Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah said Lahad Datu is capable of producing more than 5 million tonnes; Kunak, 1.24 million tonnes; Tawau, 1.36 million tonnes, and Sandakan, 5.09 million tonnes.
He said the production in Lahad Datu alone is equivalent to half of the biomass quantity that can be developed; that is until the National Biomass Strategy is able to transform the state into a biomass processing centre.
“The potential for biomass which at this moment is just thought of as waste or soil conditioner is estimated to produce additional income of RM15 billion annually for Sabah by 2020,” said Raymond during the Conference on New Business Opportunities in Biomass Downstream, where the text of his speech was presented by Assistant Minister of Industrial Development, Datuk Bolkiah Hj Ismail at Promenade Hotel here.
Raymond, who is also Minister of Industrial Development, attributed that failure was not an option for the state, and that there should be more effort in adding value to not just oil palm-based sources.
“I am talking about missed opportunities to explore in-depth into products that are cocoa- or timber-based, which we used to be more famous for even though it takes more time and effort to bear fruit,” he said.
He commented that since the world knows Sabah as a palm oil producer, it is necessary to explore more options into creating a variety of products to be developed.
“We have the confidence to make it work if all parties especially the private sector together with the state and federal government cooperate,” he said.
- New Sabah Times
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