FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Taib puts in his donation for the MRC Flag Day Fund. Also seen are MRC Kuching Chapter chairman Datu Dr Abang Rauf Abang Zen (left) and MRC treasurer Lam Kam Soon. —Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING:SCORE on track despite Rio Tinto’s withdrawal from smelter pact.
The termination of a pact between Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) and Rio Tinto Aluminium (M) Sdn Bhd (RTA) to set up a smelter plant in Samalaju would not affect the implementation of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the cancellation of the pact was not an issue as there were two other companies on the waiting list.
“In fact I am short of power at the moment for aluminium. I can only accommodate one at a time so if this one is not on it doesn’t matter because there is another one that will be coming,” he said without elaborating.
Taib told reporters this after launching the Malaysian Red Crescent (MRC) Kuching Chapter’s Flag Day yesterday.
“They in fact came to see me and said that they may not participate at this early stage of the project because the company has experienced some slight restructuring lately, but they may come back later,” he said.
According to a report from Reuters yesterday, Rio Tinto signalled a major retreat from its global aluminium business last October when it unveiled plans to sell 13 assets, including smelters and alumina refineries.
This came just four years after the company purchased aluminium giant Alcan for US$38.1 billion in one of the sector’s biggest ever deals. Last month, Rio Tinto slashed the book value of Alcan by US$9 billion.
The company is also exiting its diamond business, which includes operations in Zimbabwe, Canada and Australia, with assets worth up to US$2 billion.
On Tuesday, CMS said in a press statement that the termination involved heads of agreement between RTA and Samalaju Aluminium Industries Sdn Bhd, its wholly-owned unit, and the memorandum of understanding between both parties and Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB).
CMS group managing director Datuk Richard Curtis said RTA and CMS had agreed they would cease to pursue plans to jointly develop an aluminium smelter at Samalaju but remained open to other future possible collaborations.
Curtis also said CMS remained committed to being a leading local private sector participant in the realisation of SCORE.