OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
KUCHING: UDA Holdings Berhad is welcomed to explore further opportunities for development and collaborations in Sarawak including housing facilities to meet the needs of the upcoming petrochemical hub in Kidurong.
On this, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said there were locations in Sarawak in need of good housing facilities.
“For example, we are developing a petrochemical hub in Kidurong for the downstream oil and gas industry. In about seven to ten years, we will have about 74,000 workers there, including expatriates,” he said.
He said this downstream development in the petrochemical sector would involve foreign investment.
“The workers will need sufficient good housing. This is what UDA can look into,” he said during a ceremony at Grand Margherita Hotel here today for the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) on joint venture development between UDA Holdings Berhad and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).
He also said that the state government intended to be actively involved in the downstream oil and gas industry and add value to gas found in Sarawak, noting that the state had the largest gas reserve in the country, making up about 54 percent of Malaysian gas reserves.
During a press conference following the ceremony, UDA Holdings Berhad chairman Datuk Jalaluddin Alias thanked the chief minister for his offer.
“We will seriously look into it. The most important thing now is we are going to explore this first project together with SEDC in Kuching. Then, my team and I will look into other opportunities in Bintulu and so on,” he said.
Meanwhile, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that UDA Holdings Berhad, as a real estate development agency, has the expertise and ability to develop such housing projects as mentioned by Abang Johari in his speech.