BINTULU TO EXPERIENCE RAPID DEVELOPMENT IN NEXT FIVE YEAR – SARAWAK PREMIER

BINTULU, Bintulu is expected to experience rapid development that will bring various types of infrastructure to the area in the next five years, said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. He said that the state government wants to expand the Samalaju Industrial Park (SIP) to attract more investment to Sarawak, especially in Bintulu. He added that various types of infrastructure would be provided including increasing the electricity supply capacity to 1,500 megawatts in 2028 to help the expansion process of the industrial park. 'Electricity will be increased up to 1,000 megawatts by generating a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) to be commissioned in 2028. 'The first phase is 1,000 megawatts. The second phase will also be commissioned in 2028 with an additional 500 megawatts. This means that Bintulu will generate 1,500 megawatts of electricity,' he said at the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) Aidilfitri gathering here today. Abang Johari also said that he wanted to try to produce electricity by using the kinetic energy produced by the sea waves and this will be implemented at the 3.5km jetty in Samalaju. 'I want to try everything, including extracting electricity from an elevated tank because it depends on the concept of gravity. Hence, we in Sarawak have water, we have waves. We use all these resources to generate our new economy,' he said. In another development, he said the Federal government is expected to repeal the Bintulu Port Act after next June. According to him, the repeal of the law allows the port to be handed back to Sarawak after being operated by the Federal government for 43 years. 'I have plans for Bintulu Port but I can't elaborate for now. Insya-Allah, once Bintulu Port is taken over, it will be the most important thing in the Asian region,' he said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency