Kota Kinabalu: Tongod is an ideal location for establishing Sabah’s largest integrated clinker and cement factory due to the available resources there needed to produce cement.
Kuamut Assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah, who is also Borneo Cement (Sabah) Sdn Bhd Chairman, said raw materials such as clinker, limestone, clay and coal are readily available at the proposed site in Kampung Kawayoi Pinangah.
“I am aware that some quarters are questioning why the factory is not built in an urban area and the raw materials transported from the woods,” he said during his Hari Raya celebration with the media, here, Thursday.
“The cost is almost the same whether we transport raw materials to Kota Kinabalu or build the factory in the jungle.
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It was made to understand that the factory site is located about 100 kilometres from Tongod township.
Masiung, who is also Housing and Urban Development Board (LPPB) Chairman, said the total project cost is RM1.2 billion, with a significant portion of about RM700 million allocated for factory construction.
The remaining funds will be used for essential infrastructure development, including roads, electricity and water supply.
He said the local residents will also benefit once the factory is completed, in addition to having an economic impact on the State.
“The project will also help reduce hardcore poverty among the residents because the factory is expected to offer about 1,000 job opportunities.
“As the chairman of Borneo Cement, I am committed to providing full opportunities to the locals.
“Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor also suggested that the workforce should be recruited from extremely poor families or their children,” he said.
He further said this project is one of the Government’s ways to eradicate hardcore poverty in Tongod through sustainable job opportunities.
Recently, Hajiji was recently reported as saying the proposed factory would complement the existing Cement Industries Sabah (CIS) Sdn Bhd factory.
Hajiji is confident that the new factory will not only boost Sabah’s cement production but also allow the State to become a cement exporter.
The project is currently in the survey stage and would commence construction by the end of this year.
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