BINTULU (April 17): 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 investments into Sarawak, especially 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 (MW) by generating a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) to be commissioned in 2028.

“The first phase is 1,000MW. The second phase will also be commissioned in 2028, with an additional 500MW. This means that Bintulu will generate 1,500MW of electricity,” he said at the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) Aidilfitri gathering here on Wednesday.

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 3.5-kilometre 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 June this year.

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.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/708246