7/9/06 (The Star)  - SUBANG JAYA: Palm oil mill specialist CB Industrial Product Holdings Bhd (CBIP) expects exports to Papua New Guinea to be a major contributor to revenue next year.

Its managing director Lim Chai Beng said the current outstanding order book from Papua New Guinea should contribute 30% to the company's exports next year.

Currently, exports account for 70% of CBIP's revenue.

“At the moment, Papua New Guinea is the biggest export market. The palm oil industry is growing very fast there and it is a very good country to invest in. 

“Papua New Guinea will make up 30% of our exports,” Lim told a press conference after CBIP and Ramu Sugar Ltd signed a contract yesterday.

CBIP had secured the contract worth US$8mil to build a palm oil mill for Papua New Guinea-based Ramu Sugar. The contract was awarded to two of CBIP's wholly-owned subsidiaries, Modipalm Engineering Sdn Bhd and CBIP (PNG) Ltd.

Lim expects construction of the mill to be completed within a year.

“Construction has started and we expect it to finish within 12 months. This is the first palm oil mill we are building for Ramu Sugar.

“We expect production capacity to run at 30 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) per hour in the first phase and this could be extended to 40 tonnes of FFB per hour,” he said.

Ramu Sugar chairman Peter Colton said production should begin next September.

“This will be our first mill. In four or five years, if things go well, we'll do the same again on some of our land. We expect in four or five years to have a second 40-tonne mill,” he said.

CBIP has so far this year secured three contracts from Papua New Guinea. The other two contracts were awarded by CTP Holdings Pte Ltd.

Lim said the company currently had under construction globally 15 mills with a combined value of RM350mil.

“These contracts should last us until 2008,” he added.