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Sabah Has Niche In Biochemical, Says Madius
Sabah Has Niche In Biochemical, Says Madius
12/11/2015 (Bernama) - Sabah's niche in bioeconomy is in the area of biochemical, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau today.
He said there was a huge potential to develop that field due to the vast oil palm plantations in the state.
"This is huge. If you look at Sabah's biomass (derived from oil palm), there are so many things we can tap there, from waste which can be converted to methane, and so on," he told reporters after opening the Bioeconomy Day here.
Madius said apart from Sabah's 2.4 million hectares of oil palm plantations, the state had abundance of other raw materials for producing biochemicals.
Earlier in his speech, Madius said despite Malaysia's slow economic growth over the past few years, the Bioeconomy Transformation Programme (BTP) has reached significant achievements since its introduction in 2012.
"As of last month, the BTP boasts of a total of 48 trigger projects, which are expected to generate a total gross national income (GNI) of RM5.97 billion in 2020," he said.
According to Madius, the projects would provide 25,355 job opportunities and secure cumulative investments of RM18.21 billion.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal said Sabah held large untapped opportunities, especially in the state's natural strengths that could be leveraged to expand high potential economic activities in the bio-based sector.
"Furthermore, Sabah can capitalise on its strategic location between the affluent markets of North Asia and the fast developing regions of southern Philippines, Kalimantan and Brunei to profit from the major shipping routes in the ASEAN region," he said.
Mohd Nazlee said BiotechCorp has continually driven the bioeconomy agenda to enhance and achieve Malaysia's National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) goals by contributing to the growth of the nation's economy.
He said in the second phase of the NBP from 2011 to 2015, BiotechCorp had secured investments worth RM24.9 billion as of September, surpassing the RM9 billion target.
He said there was a huge potential to develop that field due to the vast oil palm plantations in the state.
"This is huge. If you look at Sabah's biomass (derived from oil palm), there are so many things we can tap there, from waste which can be converted to methane, and so on," he told reporters after opening the Bioeconomy Day here.
Madius said apart from Sabah's 2.4 million hectares of oil palm plantations, the state had abundance of other raw materials for producing biochemicals.
Earlier in his speech, Madius said despite Malaysia's slow economic growth over the past few years, the Bioeconomy Transformation Programme (BTP) has reached significant achievements since its introduction in 2012.
"As of last month, the BTP boasts of a total of 48 trigger projects, which are expected to generate a total gross national income (GNI) of RM5.97 billion in 2020," he said.
According to Madius, the projects would provide 25,355 job opportunities and secure cumulative investments of RM18.21 billion.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal said Sabah held large untapped opportunities, especially in the state's natural strengths that could be leveraged to expand high potential economic activities in the bio-based sector.
"Furthermore, Sabah can capitalise on its strategic location between the affluent markets of North Asia and the fast developing regions of southern Philippines, Kalimantan and Brunei to profit from the major shipping routes in the ASEAN region," he said.
Mohd Nazlee said BiotechCorp has continually driven the bioeconomy agenda to enhance and achieve Malaysia's National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) goals by contributing to the growth of the nation's economy.
He said in the second phase of the NBP from 2011 to 2015, BiotechCorp had secured investments worth RM24.9 billion as of September, surpassing the RM9 billion target.