Malaysia proposes $103 billion Sarawak Corridor renewables development plan

In Malaysia, the national government has proposed a $103 billion “Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy” (SCORE) development plan, which includes heavy investment in jatropha and palm-based biodiesel production. The government made the annoucnement after plans were revealed for a $308 million development in Sarawak by a Malaysian-Japanese consortium that would develop 220,000 acres of oil palm and jatropha plantations to produce 240,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year.

Recently, Malaysian development efforts in palm and jatropha have been more focused on nbeighboring Sabah state.

Sabah announced last month that it would seek $304 million over 18 years from the Federal Government to assist in the development of its Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu.
The Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB) also demonstrated jatropha biodiesel in a Toyota Land Cruiser trial conducted at the Sabah Development Corridor Expo. The SLDB has proposed expansion of jatropha capacity in Malaysia as a poverty-reduction program, saying that farmers could earn RM 1500 per month from farming 6-acre plots of jatropha curcus, from seedlings provided by Borneo Alam Ria Biomatrix.

The SLDB general manager said that Nihon Biotech, Kelana Stabil and TKM Resources have indicated that they would invest up to RM 300 million in jatropha cultivation and would purchase the fuel for export to the US, Japan and South Korea.

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