20/1/06 Kota Kinabalu (Sabah Daily Express) -  The Government is giving special concessions for the development of the palm oil industrial cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu as investors' interest grows. Officials of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, the developer of the cluster, were told that requirements for the setting up of palm oil refineries within POIC Lahad Datu will be less restrictive. The details are being worked out.

POIC Chairman Datuk Ewon Ebin, who is also State Minister of Industrial Development, headed the Sabah delegation at the meeting, as well as a series of visits to companies which have expressed interest and intent in investing in the Lahad Datu POIC.

"We expect to firm up sale of land to them once we finalise our sub-division and land price next month."

Among the companies visited were Pan-Century Oleochemical Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of an Indian conglomerate, PGEO Group Sdn Bhd, J.C. Chang (Pte) Ltd and Felda Bulkers Johor Sdn Bhd.

Ewon said the interest of the companies was reflected by the fact that top decision-makers were present at all the meetings from Jan. 12-17. The Sabah delegation met Pan-Century's President/CEO Dilip Gaur, PGEO's Managing Director Yee Chek Toong, J.C. Chang's Executive Director Shien Chang and Felda Bulkers' CEO Wee Fang Peng.

POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, formed in May 2005, has a 10-year master plan to develop up to 3,000 acres of land just outside Lahad Datu town into Malaysia's only palm oil industrial cluster.

It is envisaged that the cluster will transform Lahad Datu, and make this town into a palm oil logistic and shipping hub, as well as become Malaysia's fourth palm oil futures delivery port after Pasir Gudang (Johor), Port Klang (Selangor) and Butterworth (Penang).

Last December, POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd signed a framework agreement for a joint-venture with a Korean and a Malaysian-based Chinese company for the setting up of a 600,000 tonnes per year biodiesel plant in Lahad Datu. Ewon said based on the feedback he gathered investors' interest is "massive".

"Many are keen to sign up immediately©nd we have since had to think hard about how fast we need to develop to meet their (investors) demand especially in the area of infrastructure, particularly the port," he added.

Responding to the potential investors' concern about the long-term availability of raw materials especially crude palm oil, POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd is formulating strategies to "lock in" supplies from Sabah's 1.2 million hectares oil palm plantations, and roughly 2 million hectares of plantations being developed in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, located south of the Indonesian-Malaysian border from Lahad Datu.