Thestar: Thursday March 11, 2010
By DANNY YAP
danny@thestar.com.my KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong-based Sun Bear Solar Ltd, a global player in the solar energy industry, will be investing RM5.2bil in a solar glass manufacturing plant in Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, Sabah.
Datuk Jalilah Baba says the project signifies another step taken by Malaysia to reduce its global carbon footprint. The first phase would cost RM2.2bil and involved the purchase of fixed assets, including the building of two glass manufacturing lines for the 300-acre plant, said Lee Judd, chairman of its wholly-owned subsidiary Sun Bear Sdn Bhd.
“The second phase, costing RM3bil, will kick off six months later and involves the development of two larger glass manufacturing lines. The plant will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2012,” she said yesterday at a media briefing on the plant.
Judd said Sabah was the ideal site for the plant because of the abundance of raw materials in the state for the manufacture of various types of glass, a critical component in the production of many value-added products such as solar panels.
Moreover, Sabah also has good logistics and infrastructure, as well as manpower and expertise for the plant which potentially could be the largest glass manufacuring plant in the world over time.
Malaysian Industrial Develoment Authority (Mida) director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba said Sun Bear initially approached Mida on the possibility of setting up the plant in Malaysia in 2007.
“We worked closely and had many meetings over the past two years or so to provide Sun Bear the critical information it required, especially on the supply of raw materials,” she said.
Jalilah said the solar project signified another successful step taken by Malaysia to reduce its global carbon footprint.
Datuk Jalilah Baba says the project signifies another step taken by Malaysia to reduce its global carbon footprint. “The second phase, costing RM3bil, will kick off six months later and involves the development of two larger glass manufacturing lines. The plant will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2012,” she said yesterday at a media briefing on the plant.
Judd said Sabah was the ideal site for the plant because of the abundance of raw materials in the state for the manufacture of various types of glass, a critical component in the production of many value-added products such as solar panels.
Moreover, Sabah also has good logistics and infrastructure, as well as manpower and expertise for the plant which potentially could be the largest glass manufacuring plant in the world over time.
Malaysian Industrial Develoment Authority (Mida) director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba said Sun Bear initially approached Mida on the possibility of setting up the plant in Malaysia in 2007.
“We worked closely and had many meetings over the past two years or so to provide Sun Bear the critical information it required, especially on the supply of raw materials,” she said.
Jalilah said the new solar glass plant had the potential to create great spin-off benefits for the economy via the production of high-value innovative products, the introduction of new and advanced solar technologies and the creation of potential downstream industries in lighting, green buildings, home applications and solar heating.
“The plant will create about 1,200 employment opportunities in the country,” she said, adding that there would also be a significant multiplier effect in income generation in various new fields that required special skills.Jalilah said the solar project signified another successful step taken by Malaysia to reduce its global carbon footprint.
“The advancement of Malaysia’s renewable energy industry is no longer an option, but a necessity to transform the country into a high-income based economy,” she noted.
Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, Malaysia targets to generate 217 MW peak from solar, thereby increasing its solar contribution to 1.5% from 0.0013% currently. (MW peak refers to the maximum energy obtained when the sun is strongest.)
As a high-technology driven industry, solar manufacturing had the potential to contribute up to 4% of the country’s gross domestic product this year, said Jalilah.
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