Locals account for 62.6 pct of Sogip workforce

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KOTA KINABALU: Local residents account for 62.6 per cent of the total workforce at the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (Sogip) as of May this year, said Sabah Assistant Industrial Development Minister, Datuk Bolkiah Ismail.

He said of the 409 permanent jobs available at the industrial park, 259 were taken up by the locals.

“These do not include the number of jobs which had been indirectly created through the investment in Sogip,” he said during the Question-and-Answer session at the Sabah’s State Legislative Assembly yesterday.

He said it in response to a question from Limus Jury (BN-Kuala Penyu) on the number of job opportunities which have been created for the local residents and the number of investors in Sogip.

Meanwhile, Bolkiah said, the Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corp Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) was also on the lookout for investors, comprising companies which used natural gas as a main source in their processing.

“SOGDC’s board of directors is looking at constructing a second ammonia plant next to the Sabah Ammonia Urea Project.

“So far there have been three applications – Eurochem, China Consortium and Markisa from Petronas. The US$800 million (US$1=RM4.28) project is expected to be completed by 2021,” he said.

He said current investments included from Petronas Gas Bhd in the construction of the Sabah Lateral Gas Pipeline in Sogip.

Bolkiah said the state government had spent close to RM459 million in providing the basic infrastructure in Sogip, including the water and electricity supply and roads. — Bernama