KUALA LUMPUR: MMC Corporation Bhd’s subsidiary Seaport World Wide Sdn Bhd (SWW) has sealed a long-term landlease agreement with global oil terminal operator Vitol Terminal BV’s subsidiary ATT Tanjung Bin Sdn Bhd (ATT) that will see the latter investing up to RM1 billion in Iskandar Malaysia and SWW possibly co-investing in it.
Under the terms of the 30-year lease agreement, SWW will lease about 48 hectares of land at the Tanjung Bin Petroleum and Maritime centre for RM20 per square feet to ATT.
In a statement on Sept 26, Vitol Terminal’s chief executive officer, Rob Nijst, said ATT would be investing up to RM1 billion, under the first phase, to construct facilities for an oil terminal, which provides for blending and storage of crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products with an initial capacity of 750,000 cubic metres.
Notably, pursuant to the agreement, SWW has the option to acquire a 20% stake in the project.
“ATT will construct between five and 12 berths (in phases) and marine jetties which can handle various sized tankers between 25,000-180,000 deadweight tonnes (dwt) and single buoy moorings (SBM) capable of handling the larger VLCCs.
“This marks a new milestone for Vitol Terminal’s business involvement in the region. We are proud to be associated with MMC which already has quite a number of significant projects in Iskandar,” he said.
Apart from the strategic location of Tanjung Bin, shipping anchorages and regional energy pricing centre, Nijst said other supporting factors leading to it choosing the location for its new facility was the competitive operating costs and the other planned strategic developments within Iskandar.
MMC chief executive officer Malaysia Hasni Harun said: “The setting up of Vitol Terminal’s facility in Southwest Johor is timely and marks another chapter of MMC’s investment in Iskandar Malaysia. MMC, through SWW, will have the option to acquire a 20% interest in the project.”
“This is a significant progress to MMC’s and SWW’s long term plans to develop the area into a new growth area for marine activities as outlined in the master-plan which was committed together with the state government back in 2002.
“Under the master-plan, we have already completed the construction of the Tanjung Bin power plant built at a cost of RM7.6 billion and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) which is today ranked 17th amongst the world’s busiest ports,” Hasni said.
MMC and SWW director Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Othman said the deal demonstrated Vitol Terminal’s confidence in MMC as a world class infrastructure and utilities provider which was capable of catering to world class requirements.
“We are also currently negotiating deals with other parties who are interested in being a part of the Tanjung Bin Petroleum and Maritime centre. The presence of Vitol Terminals BV is good for both MMC and Iskandar Malaysia as it will further spur other global players to come and invest here,” said Sidik.