Its group chief executive officer Captain Kamarulzaman Mohamed said the Melaka Oil Storage Terminal (MOST) project is scheduled to start by the second half of next year and to be completed in mid-2013.

“We are now in the process of completing the environmental impact assessment and it will be the first seaport and independent oil storage tank in Malaysia,” he told reporters after the kick-off its new corporate branding ceremony here Thursday.

Kamarulzaman said Korea’s Samjung TCN and MSK Corporation Sdn Bhd had been appointed as the main contractor and contracts worth about RM700 million were awarded for the proposed project. Engineering conglomerate Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd will build a five-megawatt power plant costing US$50 million (US$1.00=RM3.38) and provide the latest technologies in electrical, instrumentation, automation equipment, tank process control and applications, he said.

“The terminal will cater to the demand of the marine industry such as Petronas, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and international oil traders,” he added. According to Kamarulzaman, Pristine will raise funds via a syndicated loan for the project, with between 70 and 80 per cent to be raised locally and the remainder from offshore. He said the terminal could become an alternative for local customers who are currently using a terminal in a neighbouring country.

The construction of MOST on 32 hectares of land will be carried out in four phases, comprising the marine terminal and jetty, multi-purpose oil storage tanks farms with 360,000-metric tonne capacity. Kamarulzaman said there were close to 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, with more than 11 million barrels being transited through the Straits of Melaka alone.

To date, Pristine has paid RM516,000 to the Melaka state government, of which RM400,000 is for land premium, RM100,000 for commitment fees and RM16,000 as ex-gratia to fishermen to show its commitment to the project, he said.