NEXTGREEN, IOI EYE RM300 MLN REVENUE FROM NEW PAPER PULP FACTORY

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- Nextgreen Global Bhd (NGGB) and IOI Corp Bhd expect their new paper pulp production facility in Pekan, Pahang, to generate RM300 million in revenue in the first year of operation, which is slated to be operational by 2026.

NGGB, a pulp and paper manufacturer, and IOI’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, IOI Paper Pulp Sdn Bhd, have inked a shareholders’ agreement (SA) today to develop the nation’s first large-scale zero-waste paper pulp plant within NGGB’s 165.92 hectares Green Technology Park in Pekan, with an estimated cost of RM600 million.

In a joint statement, NGGB and IOI said the SA entails the formation of a private limited company, Nextgreen IOI Pulp Sdn Bhd (NIP), in which NGGB will hold a 55 per cent stake and IOI 45 per cent.

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“The objective of the collaboration is to ensure that agricultural waste like oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), a biomass by-product waste from oil palm industries which is typically unutilised, is transformed into green and sustainable products such as woodfree paper, tissue paper, premium packaging paper and pulp moulded packaging,” said the statement.

NGGB managing director Datuk Lim Thiam Huat said NIP will develop and operate the paper pulp production facility, which will have an initial capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum of chemical bleached pulp made from oil palm EFB using NGGB’s patented preconditioning refiner chemical-recycle bleached mechanised pulp (PRC-RBMP) technology.

“This phase of development will take place over the next 18 to 24 months, and both shareholders will combine their core business strengths to build a sustainable economic and environmentally friendly future together,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the SA.

Lim also disclosed that NIP had already received a letter of intent from Japan-based Marubeni Corp to purchase the pulp made by EFB.

“At the same time, it does not limit us to go further to China as well,” he said.

Lim said that by adopting the waste-to-value concept, this bio-integrated zero-waste process ensures that by-products from every part of the pulp production process are fully utilised through conversion into green products and renewable energy in a closed-loop system. 

Meanwhile, IOI managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said both companies have long regarded the utilisation of palm-based biomass for value-added applications as an important activity within the circular economy. 

“Together with our palm wood venture utilising oil palm trunks, this joint venture will help IOI to take significant strides towards achieving our group-wide net zero emissions target,” he said.

-- BERNAMA