ISKANDAR PUTERI: United Malayan Land Bhd (UMLand) wants to position and develop its Johor Halal Park (JHP) as the leading halal bio-based and herbal-based park in the world.
JHP chief executive officer Mohd Noor Abdul Salam said the location of the park in the Eastern Gate Development Zone of Iskandar Malaysia was the added advantage for the project.
He said Iskandar Malaysia’s close proximity with Singapore, an international trading and finance centre, would be one of the strong selling points to attract investors from all over the world to the park.
“We have received strong interest from companies in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore to set up their operations at the park,’’ Mohd Noor said in a media briefing here.
The freehold-halal park is a joint-venture project between UMLand and the Johor State Government-linked company Johor Biotechnology & Biodiversity Corporation (J-Biotech).
The 141.63ha project is located on a 141.63ha site in Cahaya Baru near Pasir Gudang with a gross development value of RM1.5bil to be developed over the next five to seven years.
The components in the park are a regional marketing and clearing house (RMCH), integrated packaging, warehousing and logistic (IPWL), one-stop centre, scientific and halal laboratory and incubator facilities of international standard.
Mohd Noor said phase one of the project on a 20.23ha land was progressing well and expected to be completed by the end of the year while phase two covering 80.93ha would start soon and be ready by 2018.
He said phase three on a 40.46ha site would start in 2017 with completion date in 2020, adding that the industrial area covered 80.93ha, commercial (40.46ha), RMCH (12.14ha) and bio-processing hub (8.09ha).
“In fact, we are hosting a business delegation from China next week for a site visit and we are confident of attracting Chinese companies to set up operations in the park,’’ said Mohd Noor.
Meanwhile, J-Biotech chief executive officer Wan Amir Jeffrey Wan Abdul Majid said that Johor has the right eco-system to emerge as leading bio-based halal hub in the world.
He said commitments from all stakeholders at the Federal and state governments were important in order for Johor to achieve that status.
“As the main food producer in the country, Johor has the added advantage to become a leading halal hub compared with other states in Malaysia,’’ added Wan Amir Jeffrey.
He said for the phase of the project, JHP would be looking at companies producing halal food and beverages based on the Islamic principles for domestic and export markets.
Wan Amir Jeffrey said it also did not dismiss the possibility of attracting manufacturers producing plant-based cosmetics including those made from the palm oil by-products as well as herbal-based wellness products.
“The halal industry is a big business with the worldwide demand for halal consumer products worth US$2.5 trillion last year.
“Malaysia’s contribution is only about US$12bil,’’ he said.
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