BANGKOK: A Sarawak delegation to Thailand led by the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) visited the Siam Cement Group (SCG) headquarters here for a study visit.
The study visit on Dec 19 led by SEDC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr Abdul Aziz Husain and BDA general manager Datuk Muhammad Yaakup Kari was to explore the possibility of SEDC and BDA forming a joint venture company to import cement from SCG to address cement shortage and price hike currently faced by the Sarawak construction industry.
“The envisaged benefits of the effort will entail an increase in supply of cement for Sarawak to fulfil the immediate need of the construction industry. This will also help to alleviate the shortage and price increase of cement in Sarawak.
“The scarcity of cement supply in Sarawak has also affected cement prices. Sarawak’s average cement unit price is 15 per cent more than in Peninsular Malaysia and 4 per cent higher than in Sabah.
“Problems with supply and pricing have hampered and delayed key development projects in Sarawak,” said a joint press release here today.
Furthermore, cement imports are subject to certificates of approval issued by the Construction Industry and Development Board (CIDB).
Sarawak imported RM206.6 million in lime, cement, and fabricated construction supplies in 2021, primarily from Peninsular Malaysia (RM112.8 million), Indonesia (RM56.3 million), and China (RM13.6 million).
“To address these issues, the SEDC-BDA joint venture company is eyeing the prospect of importing 500,000 to 1 million metric tonnes of cement per year from SCG for Sarawak beginning in 2023,” added the statement.
