The proposed zone on 142ha will cater to the construction, repair and maintenance of ships and other related downstream activities.

Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) will develop a RM50mil shipbuilding industrial zone in the Tanjung Manis new township in central Sarawak. 

The proposed zone on 142ha will cater to the construction, repair and maintenance of ships and other related downstream activities. 

HSL yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corp (STIDC), which owns the land, for the proposed joint-venture project. 

HSL group managing director Paul Yu Chee Hoe and STIDC general manager Len Talif Salleh signed the agreement witnessed by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is also STIDC chairman. 

STIDC said in a statement the Tanjung Manis shipbuilding zone was expected to attract major shipbuilders in Sibu and from overseas. 

?The repair and maintenance shipyard will cater to ocean liners and cargo vessels with capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes. 

?With the availability of these facilities, Tanjung Manis is ready to support full operations of the deepsea fishing industry and Rejang Port Authority which will be fully operational in 2009,? it added. 

The township, currently in the final phase of its five-year development, houses the country?s largest integrated timber complex catering to various wood processing industries.

Source : The Star Online