MoU signed for development Biohub Port Sarawak in Malaysia

09 July 2020

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Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM), Regal Lands Sdn. Bhd. (REGAL), Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad (BPHB) en Havenbedrijf Rotterdam gaan gezamenlijk onderzoek doen naar de ontwikkeling van een Biohub Industrial Port en Industrial Estate in de stad Bintulu in de Maleisische deelstaat Sarawak. Op 7 juli 2020 ondertekenden de heer Naser Jaafar van AIM, de heer Wong Pak Kiong van REGAL, de heer Dato Mohammad Medan Bin Abdullah van BPHB en de heer André Toet, PT Pelabuhan Rotterdam Indonesia hiertoe een MoU.

MOU signing for development of Biohub Port Sarawak in Malaysia

Naser Jaafar, CEO Agensi Inovasi Malaysia

'The BioHub concept is something the AIM National Biomass Strategy team have advocated for, and they have spent significant time and effort to find the right fit of stakeholders who are aligned to the vision. We strongly believe in the BioHub concept and today with trust from partners and stakeholders, this concept is being advanced to the next phase in its implementation. We have been supporting this project since the start and have committed to sustain our efforts to work with like-minded stakeholders and strong implementation partners to make this vision a reality. This will be exciting times for the state of Sarawak, as we may well witness something that could be a game changer.'

Wong Pak Kiong, Executive Director Regal International Group

'This collaboration marks a new direction not just for our Company but also for Sarawak (Malaysia). Our traditional business focuses on development and construction, especially for residential and commercial properties. Now with this, we make a strategic decision to undertake development which synergises with Sarawak’s vast land resources and this helps Sarawak’s economic growth and sustainability. With AIM, we started exploring the Bioport- and BioHub-model as a possible economic growth engine. The biomass, which is critical to Bioport and BioHub, is abundant in Sarawak, and this enables Sarawak to have that edge in the biomass industry and will level the playing field for Sarawak to enter into a frontier industry and create good job opportunities for Sarawakians and another avenue for wealth creation for Sarawak businesses. With the right ecosystem in place, we are optimistic about the success of this project and Regal as a pioneer in this frontier in Sarawak should benefit. We thank the Port of Rotterdam and Bintulu Port, our esteemed partners, and AIM our government partner for their strong support. This is a major milestone and we believe that a collaborative approach is the key to success. With the input and collaboration of such strong and experienced partners in this ecosystem industry, let’s make it happen!'

Dato Mohammad Medan Bin Abdullah, Group Chief Executive Officer Bintulu Port Holding Berhad

'As Bintulu Port Group, we look forward to exploring the potential cooperation and business growth on this Biohub Project with all parties leveraging on the strategic location of the two ports currently being operated by the Group. The embarking on this project is also in line with our Bintulu Port Group Smart Digital Green Port (SDGP) Blueprint initiative. With this cooperation, we foresee a greater achievement of the SDGP Blueprint aspiration for the Port to transform in the areas of its operations, energy efficiency, management & organization and its approach to the environment. The reap of the project will no doubt contribute to the State and Nation in terms of economic benefits and realizing sustainability goals.'

Andre Toet, MD PT Pelabuhan Indonesia

'As Port of Rotterdam we are excited to start a new venture in Malaysia in a four party cooperation. The cooperation will strengthen our presence and commitment in Malaysia and support their sustainable developments both in port and industrial estates. This aligns with PoR’s energy transition ambitions and brings additional knowledge to all parties.'

H.E. Aart Jacobi, Netherlands Ambassador in Malaysia

'This MoU underlines the strong economic partnership between Malaysia and the Netherlands. Malaysia and the Netherlands are both open and internationally oriented trading nations. The Netherlands has been Europe’s distribution hub for decades and Malaysia has the ambition to become the distribution hub of ASEAN. I am confident that partnerships between Malaysian and Dutch ports will support this development. The Biohub and Industrial Estate Development in Bintulu will provide an excellent platform for green innovations and the future sustainable economic development of Sarawak.'

Content of MOU

The cooperation considers the development of a Biohub Industrial Port and Industrial Estate in Sarawak, Malaysia. In first instance the project will focus on studying the suitable location for the development of the Biohub project in close cooperation with Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad.

AIM

AIM is a statutory body set up by the Government of Malaysia, under the purview of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) with the primary purpose of being the driving force behind Malaysia’s push towards establishing an “innovation economy” and its aspirations of achieving a high-income nation status. This collaboration stems on the work done by National Biomass Strategy (NBS) Delivery Unit, an initiative under the Agency. AIM is the lead agency for biomass related initiatives with the intention to develop new portfolio of biomass based industrial ecosystem that will create sustainable economic and lasting social impact. AIM works with all local and international stakeholders to ensure investment and biomass ecosystem is localized in the country and our value chain is connected to global markets.

Regal Lands Sdn Bhd

Regal Lands Sdn Bhd is the subsidiary company of Regal International Group Ltd (“RIG”) which is one of the first Sarawak-based companies listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange. Over the past 16 years, RIG has achieved an impressive track record of constructing and completing a range of property development projects in Kuching, Kota Samarahan and Bintulu (Sarawak, East Malaysia) in addition to Nilai (Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia). Building on its strong pipeline of property projects, RIG aspires to be the bridging gateway and platform for international partners and investors to access the abundant emerging business opportunities in Malaysia, especially Sarawak.

Regal’s primary objective in this venture is to develop, build, collaborate and implement with its partners the BioHub and related ecosystem such as satellite feedstock aggregation, collecting and processing facilities, the industrial BioHub and related support services such as R&D and training to create highly skilled human capital. This will place Regal in another dimension of value creation with sustainable and recurring revenue streams as it sets to diversify its business and optimize all land use.

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Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad

Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad is an investment holding company listed on Bursa Malaysia. Its subsidiaries, Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd and Samalaju Port Sdn Bhd are engaged in the provision of port services which include marine services (towage, pilotage, mooring), cargo handling and storage, stevedoring, supply base services, bunkering while its other subsidiary, Biport Bulkers Sdn Bhd specializes in the provision of bulking installation services. Bintulu Port Group manages and operates two (2) major deep sea ports in East Malaysia and presently its cargo throughput is the 3rd biggest among Malaysian Ports. The Ports are geographically situated along the busy sea trade route between Far East and Europe serving major markets in the growth areas of ASEAN and the East Asia region. The Bintulu Port Group’s mission is delivering operational excellence & ensuring our long-term sustainability based on 3Ps; (Profits, People, Planet).