Biodiesel R&D centre in Sabah

THE establishment of Yanmar Kota Kinabalu R&D Centre Sdn Bhd here by Yanmar Co Ltd, a Japanese manufacturer of diesel engines and its allied machinery, is expected to further boost Sabah's biodiesel industry.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said this was because Sabah, the biggest palm oil producing state in Malaysia, was currently at the forefront of developing biodiesel from palm oil. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the research and development (R&D) centre at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park on Friday, he said Yanmar pioneered the development of engines and power plants that kept abreast of changing environment and needs of the world.

Musa said the Sabah government has set up POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd to spearhead the downstream palm oil processing industries in the state. He said the company, which started operations in late 2005, was currently developing about 1,150 acres of land in Lahad Datu as a palm oil industrial cluster. Musa said to date, the cluster has attracted 10 companies with investments of up to RM1 billion in Lahad Datu expected in the next two years. "Two biodiesel manufacturing plants are currently under construction and they are expected to start production later this year, said Musa who thanked Yanmar for picking Sabah to site its R&D centre, the first of its kind outside Japan. Bernama