Storage terminal in Pulau Besar to boost industry

MALACCA: The state will be home to Malaysia’s first seaport with an independent oil storage tank facility with the building of the RM700mil Malacca Oil Storage Terminal in Pulau Besar by the middle of 2010.

The project, a joint effort between Pristine Oil Capital Sdn Bhd and Germany-based Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd, will cater to the marine industry and help develop the state’s petroleum industry.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the terminal would be built on 36.4ha on the island and be equipped with 25 storage tanks that can hold 250 tonnes of refined petroleum.

Sealed: Mohd Ali viewing at a scaled model of the project while other officials look on after thesigning ceremony in Malacca recently.

“The terminal will make it convenient for ships plying the Straits of Malacca to refuel while on transit to their destinations,” he said after witnessing an agreement signing between Pristine Oil Capital, Siemens and the State Economic Development Corporation.

He said the terminal would be built in four phases comprising a marine terminal and jetty, multipurpose oil storage tank farms, a 5MW power plant and an administration building.

Pristine Oil CEO captain Kamarulzaman Mohamed said that more than 800 jobs would be created while the local economy would be boosted.

“We will absorb students from Kolej Yayasan Melaka to undergo apprenticeships after the terminals are completed,” he said.

Siemens president and CEO Tan Sri Rainer Althoff expressed confidence that the project would be a catalyst for growth owing to the state’s strategic location on the trade route for bulk liquid cargo.

“In East Asia, there is close to 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserves with more than 11 million barrels transiting through the Straits of Malacca,” he said, adding that Siemens would provide latest technologies in electrical, instrumentation and automation equipment, tank process control and applications.

The terminal is the second collaboration between the two companies following the success of the Yan storage facility in Kedah in 2005.