KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government says that no investor has pulled out of the controversial cement factory project in Tongod.
Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe (PH-Luyang) told the assembly on Wednesday (April 16) that, according to Borneo Cement (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, all parties involved in the project remain committed.
“There is no investor withdrawal. All stakeholders are still on board with the project,” he said during his winding-up speech at the Sabah State Legislative Assembly today.
Phoong said the project site in Kawayoi Pinangah had received approval for earthworks, but full construction was still pending the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment report.
He added that the plant would be built by Sinoma Industrial Engineering (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the world’s largest cement engineering group. The project’s manufacturing licence had already been approved by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry in 2023.
Last Monday (April 14), Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Lamag) questioned the project's status during the State Assembly sitting, claiming that the investor had withdrawn and that the factory’s location in a remote forested area made little economic sense.
Responding to Bung’s concerns about alleged logging at the site, Phoong said there have been no new logging activities.
Once completed, the factory is expected to produce 1.75 million metric tonnes of cement annually, of which 1.2 million tonnes would be channelled to Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd for local packaging and the rest exported.
Meanwhile, Phoong clarified that there are no silica sand exports from Sabah, as the state government prioritises local processing for downstream industries like solar glass production.
“We will not allow silica sand to be exported. Our priority is to process it in Sabah and generate high-value local industries,” said Phoong.
The question on silica sand was raised by Sarifuddin Hata (Warisan-Merotai), who pointed out that RM7.5mil in revenue from silica sand was listed in the 2025 state budget and asked whether export activity had already been approved.
