09/08/05 JAKARTA, (Asia Pulse) - A number of Chinese investors will buildoil palm plantations with a total investment of US$8 billion along theborder area with Malaysia in Kalimantan.

The entire project will be financed by China Development Bank, says RadenPardede, chairman of the Infrastructure Development Financing Team.

The plantation will be built in the frontier area in West Kalimantan andNorth Kalimantan along the 2,000 kilometer border with Malaysia, Pardedesaid.

He said the project will provide jobs for at least 500,000 people.

He said construction is expected to start in 2006 or 2007 and it isestimated to produce 10 million tons of oil palm fruit a year.

He said so far only China indicates strong interest in the number ofinfrastructure projects offered by the government since the InfrastructureSummit held early this year.

China's petrochemical company Sinopec has also pledged to build a US$1billion oil refinery project in Tuban, East Java.

(ANTARA)