KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- Island & Peninsular Bhd (I&P) hasproposed to set up a palm oil refinery and fertiliser plant, both inBintulu, Sarawak as part of its plantation expansion plans.Both initiatives would be undertaken via joint ventures involving Sarawakparties.I&P managing director, Dr Radzuan Abdul Rahman, said with theestablishment of the palm oil refinery it could add another RM100 millionto the group's turnover annually.Speaking to reporters after the I&P's AGM and EGM and Austral EnterprisesBhd's AGM Thursday, Radzuan said he hoped that the refinery could beginoperations in 2004 with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes a day.Radzuan said the refinery would cut down on the group's refinery costsinvolved when selling its palm oil.I&P could also gain the processing margin from the venture, he said.Currently, there is only one refinery operating in Sarawak, leavingsellers without much choice but to use them for processing, he said."The refinery would add value to our plantation portfolio. Currently, weare the net seller. Once we set the refinery, we can process on our own,"he said.Radzuan said I&P will have the majority stake in the refinery.--BERNAMA(The informations and opinions expressed in this article represent theviews of the author only. They should not be seen as necessarilyreflecting the views of Palm News)