KALABAKAN, Aug 1 — The Sabah government is expected to secure a 40 per cent stake in a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in the state under an agreement to be signed with Petronas in the coming months.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the latest development stemmed from close cooperation between the state and federal governments, as well as an earlier agreement with Petronas that enabled the state government to play a more active role in Sabah’s oil and gas industry.
“We expect to sign an agreement with Petronas within the next few months, under which Sabah will receive a 40 per cent stake in the floating gas facility in the state.
“For the oil and gas field in Sandakan that Petronas has secured, Sabah will also be given a 20 per cent stake,” he said while launching the ‘Jelajah Rakyat and Madani Rahmah Sales’ programme for the Kalabakan parliamentary constituency at the Kalabakan District Office Open Hall today.
Hajiji said the close working relationship between the state and federal governments had generated significant benefits for both Sabah and its people.
Separately, he said Sabah was attracting growing investor interest due to the state government’s investor-friendly policies.
“Over the past five years, nearly 40 foreign diplomats and high commissioners have met with me. They are attracted by our investor-friendly policies and believe they will drive Sabah’s economic growth. That is exactly what we are working towards,” he said.
Hajiji said existing industrial parks, particularly the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) and the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), were nearing full capacity due to strong investor demand.
He said the state government was therefore expanding industrial development into new areas, including the east coast of Sabah, as well as establishing a blue economy-based industrial park in the northern part of the state.
On the proposed new township in Kalabakan, Hajiji said about 1,000 acres had been identified for the project, which would support economic growth along the Sabah-Indonesia border.
He added that the state government also planned to establish a customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex at the border, as well as build a road linking Kalabakan to the border. — Bernama
