SEOUL: An estimated USD 460 billion total worth of investment until 2050 is expected to be injected into the Sarawak’s economy to realise the the proposed Sarawak New Energy Hub (SNEH) project in Bintulu.

Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg said, the amount will include both government spending and private sector investment and equity participation.

He said this to the media on Wednesday at the end of a briefing on the proposal by Samsung E & A Corporation. 

The Sarawak Premier and his delegation arrived here on Monday night for a two-day working visit.

He said the park, to be chiefly driven by hydropower from its dams, would produce renewable energy sources primarily hydrogen and ammonia that would be exported to other countries in the region, particularly Korea.

The briefings also included the review of the H2biscus hydrogen project of which the stakeholders are Samsung E & A, LOTTE Chemical Corporation and Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Sarawak through SEDC Energy, a subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).

He told the media that after three-and-a-half years since the signing of the MOU between the parties, the project in Bintulu was progressing well with a few issues that needed to be ironed out by the investors and Sarawak government.

Earlier, the Sarawak Government through SEDC Energy, represented by its Chief Executive Officer Robert Hardin, signed the Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the H2biscus project.

Samsung Engineering will execute the FEED (Front End Engineering Design) for the green hydrogen plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes and a green ammonia conversion plant with a capacity of 850,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Executive Vice-Resident of Samsung E&A, Park Cheon Hong also briefed the Sarawak Premier and other attendees on the SNEH project proposal.

In his address after the briefings, the Sarawak Premier reiterated that Sarawak would develop its power generation to 10GW by 2030 to meet the accelerated demand especially for renewable power.

The huge demand for green power in Sarawak was exemplified by the power needs of up to 1.3GW for the SNEH project, he added.

He pointed out that EU countries had also expressed their desire to collaborate with Sarawak in the renewable energy space during the recent visit of EU ambassadors to Kuching.

The EU countries had indicated that they would consider setting up the EU bank in Sarawak to provide source of funding for green investments in the state.

Also present were the Sarawak Minister of Utility and Telecommunication, Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi, Sarawak Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, Sarawak Deputy State Secretary (Economic Planning and Development), Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, and SEDC Chairman, Tan Sri Datuk Amar (Dr) Abdul Aziz Husain. -UKASnews