Malaysian businessman to build desalination plant in Tianjin

TIANJIN: Malaysian businessman Mah Sau Cheong will begin building a RMB15bil (RM9.3bil) integrated seawater desalination and salt-making plant here after signing a construction and operation agreement with the Tianjin municipal government yesterday.

This is the first zero-liquid discharge seawater desalination project in China.

The agreement for the first phase of construction and operation of the treatment plant costing RMB5.5bil (RM3.4bil) was signed between Mah of Xianda (Tianjin) Seawater Resour­ces Development Company Ltd and Wang Zheng, director of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.

The signing ceremony for the first of three phases of development was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Li Hongzhong, party secretary of the Communist Party of Tianjin.

According to Michael Mah, the son of the low-profile businessman, the construction of the first phase of the development would take 30 months to complete. It is expected to be operational in 2019.

“The award of this project is for 50 years. But at the end of 50 years of operation and management, we can ask for extension,” Michael told The Star.

The Xianda project is expected to provide industrial water and demineralised water to Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone, a 200 sq km world class petrol-chemical manufacturing complex next to Bohai Bay in northeastern China.

The investment agreement was first signed in 2013. Since then, Xianda has conducted environmental impact assessment and obtained all necessary official approvals, said Michael.

Before the signing ceremony, the elder Mah, who is Xianda Group chairman, said: “I am happy that construction will soon start. For the past two years, I have stayed put here to see through all the preparations. In fact, I first came here more than 15 years ago.”

He said this was one of his private projects in China besides real estate, cinemas and mining.

“Although I control two listed companies, they have nothing to do with this project,” he added.

In a press release, Mah said: “We have the equipment and capability to design, build and operate the project and is capable of ensuring quality.”

During the signing of the collaboration agreement on Oct 4, 2013, in Kuala Lumpur, that was also witnessed by Najib, the Prime Minister described the project as “one of Malaysia’s most exciting investments in China”.