7/2/07 (The Star)  -  KUCHING: Some 13,000ha of native customary rights (NCR) land in Genaan Sebauh, Bintulu, will be developed into an oil palm plantation.

A joint venture agreement for the project was signed by Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA), and local company Mutiara Hartabumi Sdn Bhd here on Wednesday.

Pelita Holdings chief executive officer Abdullah Chek Sahamat and Mutiara Hartabumi executive chairman Datuk Ibrahim Mahmud signed the agreement, witnessed by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu.

The project will involve 780 NCR landowners from 28 longhouses in the area.

Speaking to reporters later, Jabu said there were now 26 NCR joint venture schemes in the state, totalling 196,025ha.

“Eleven more schemes comprising 165,000ha have been approved by the state task force and we are looking for investors to develop them,” he said.

He added that a further 17 applications for NCR joint ventures were in the process of having their status as NCR land verified by the Land and Survey Department.

“When all these projects are in place, we will have a total of 656,700ha of NCR joint ventures,” Jabu said.