KIMANIS SET TO PROVIDE MORE POWER AND JOBS

Kimanis set to provide more power and jobs

KOTA KINABALU 2011/05/24: More jobs will be created as the oil and gas industry expands in Kimanis.

Sabah Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah said this when he witnessed the signing of an agreement for the construction of a 300mw independent gas-fired power plant in Kimanis worth RM1 billion.

The Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract was signed between Kimanis Power (KPSB)'s managing director M. Ali Hashim and CTCI Consortium's chairman and chief executive officer John T. Yu. The plan is due to start operation by 2013.

Tan said the power plant would boost supply to the state and, at the same time, attract more investments and create more employment, especially for the local people.

"This power plant helps us in making sure there will be sufficient electricity available in Sabah, particularly in the west coast areas, for long-term use as well as for domestic and industrial use.

"Space is also allocated to build another 100mw-block should the electricity demand in the state increase in the future."

Tan said the plant would be run by a team of 90 Malaysians, mostly Sabahans.

Meanwhile, Petronas Sabah and Labuan general manager Joseph Podtung said the national oil and gas company would open a training institution in 2013 to train locals as well as those from the region.

For now, a temporary centre will be opened by July with 25 trainees in Membakut.

Petronas has trained over 300 people from Sabah in collaboration with various institutions. The power plant project is undertaken by KPSB, a joint-venture company between Petronas Gas Berhad and NRG Consortium, a wholly-owned company of the Yayasan Sabah Group.

CTCI Consortium, consisting of Taiwanese engineering firm CTCI Corporation and two Malaysian firms, Synerlitz and SCHB Engineering, will oversee the construction of the three-block power plant, which began in April this year.