KUCHING: Press Metal Bhd's RM700mil aluminium smelter in Mukah, central Sarawak, will start commercial production in August.

The first energy-intensive industry to start production in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), the plant would initially produce 50,000 tonnes of aluminium a year, said Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Taib yesterday chaired the first meeting of the Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) to assess the development plans and proposed investments in the corridor.

The meeting decided on the procedures for approval of projects within SCORE.

Recoda spearheads SCORE's development, management and promotions, and serves as a one-stop agency to facilitate all investment activities in SCORE.

Press Metal has an 80% stake in the joint-venture Mukah plant. Its group chief executive officer Datuk Koon Poh Keong said last year that the Mukah plant would help reduce the country's dependence on imports of aluminium when operational.

Malaysia now imports 200,000 tonnes of aluminium annually.

Taib said a site was being prepared for a second aluminium smelter in the proposed 6,000ha Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu, which is within SCORE.

Sarawak Aluminium Co is a joint venture between Rio Tinto Alcan and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd.

It plans to build a bigger aluminium plant with an initial capacity of 720,000 tonnes a year when it comes onstream by 2013. The plant's capacity could be raised to 1.5 million tonnes annually.

Taib said investors had shown a strong interest in 24 major projects proposed within SCORE. These projects would involve investments of some RM80bil.

SCORE's projected total investment by 2030 is RM334bil, including RM200bil in industries and RM67bil in the power sector.

By JACK WONG
Source:thestar online | Business