19/01/2008 (Xinhua), Rompin, Malaysia - A project, implemented by a Chinese-funded firm and uses biotech to turn waste water from palm oil refineries into electricity, has been put into operation successfully in Malaysia, a Chinese embassy official said here on Saturday.

The project was among those successful projects implemented by Chinese companies to help protect the environment in Malaysia, said Gao Wenkuan, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of China's Embassy in Malaysia.

It would contribute to the protection of Malaysia's environment and further boost trade and investment cooperation between China and Malaysia, he told Xinhua after visiting the site of the project located at a palm oil plant in Rompin, Pahang.

The project, which produces marsh gas from the waste water discharged from local palm oil plants to generate electricity, was unique in Malaysia, said Lynda Lian, managing director of Biogas Environment Engineering Sdn.Bhd which implemented the project.

The technology involved is different from those introduced by some western companies in Malaysia and it is much applicable and more endurable, Lian said.

Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil producers and exporters in the world. It also provides a significant potential market for treatment of waste water discharged from palm oil plants, she said.

Lian said that the idea to do such a project in Malaysia came to her about three or four years ago and since then her company had been dedicated to a pilot project in Malaysia.

After the success of the project in Rompin, she said, her company would make efforts to expand the application of the technology to other areas in Malaysia.