Tanjung Bin Petrochemical and Maritime Centre shaping up well
PETALING JAYA: Tanjung Bin Petrochemical and Maritime Centre (TBPMC), which will cost about RM2.4bil, is set to play a vital role in transforming south Johor into an oil and gas (O&G) hub, supported by other major developments in the area.
Seaport Worldwide (SWW), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johor Port, which in turn is wholly-owned by MMC Corp Bhd, is the master developer of the 2,255-acre project.
According to a TBPMC spokesperson, the centre, together with Petronas' Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (Rapid) and Vopak-Dialog's Independent Water Terminal in Pengerang, was to meet the Government's ambition to transform south of Johor into an O&G hub.
"Tanjung Bin's anchor tenant, ATT Tanjung Bin Sdn Bhd (ATB), is already in operations and currently provides storage capacity of up to 841,000 sq m under its phase one development. ATB plans to provide an additional 400,000 sq m of storage space under phase two
"Recently, the ATB oil terminal received its first oil tanker alongside its deep-draft jetty facilities. The MT Kition, a 100,000 deadweight tonne tanker, successfully discharged its load at ATB's very-large crude carrier (VLCC) berth," he told StarBiz.
ATB is 50:50 joint venture between Swiss trading house Vitol and Malaysian maritime conglomerate MISC Bhd.
The spokesperson said that as the master developer, SWW would develop the area and equip it with the necessary infrastructure for activities related to the O&G and maritime industries, with the main focus on tank storage activities to serve regional oil and gas players.
"Once fully completed, TBPMC will be equipped with modern infrastructure such as single-point mooring facilities for VLCC vessels, centralised effluent treatment system, exclusive security, emergency response team, common utilities like water and power, sewage treatment plant and telecommunications facilities.
"Additionally, the planned bridge across Sungai Pulai that will connect Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) to Tanjung Bin will open up opportunities for more social and economic activities, subsequently attracting more medium-sized industries."
The spokesperson said travelling time from Johor Baru would also be shortened and access to PTP would be a lot faster, making it conducive for business operations in Tanjung Bin.
"The total cost of this petrochemical and maritime centre, including the bridge, is about RM2.4bil," he said.
Besides ATB, the spokesperson said SWW was also now in serious discussions with some international O&G players to further develop the area and provide additional storage capacity of two million to three million square metres.
The spokeperson said TBPMC, being strategically located at the crossroads of international sea routes between Europe and Asia, was poised to be the new business centre for global oil traders.
"Among the cutting edge of TBPMC are its location that would shorten diversion time, deep water, its storage facilities and areas for logistics activity (manufacturing and warehousing), all located within a free zone environment.
"The centre is about 45 minutes away from the international shipping routes linking Asia and the rest of the world. It is also located directly opposite the PTP, a world-class container port with its own free zone," he said.
