KOTA KINABALU, March 17 —The Sabah state government has sealed a RM2 billion silica sand processing and solar panel manufacturing project from SBH Kibing Solar New Materials (M) Sdn Bhd (SBH Kibing).

The company from China is scheduled to start operations in 2024.

The company’s 52.77-hectare solar panel manufacturing plant will be at Phase 2, Industrial Zone 7 of the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP).

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam said the plant is a component of the RM2 billion investment from SBH Kibing.

Joachim, who is also the state Infrastructure Development Minister and KKIP Sdn Bhd chairman, said another two components of the investment are silica sand mining and silica sand processing plant in Sikuati, Kudat.

"The estimated job creation is 1,800 jobs for the solar panel plant in KKIP, and another 300 jobs for the silica sand processing plant in Sikuati,” he said in his speech during the land lease agreement signing ceremony at KKIP here today.

The 30-year lease agreement was inked by Joachim and SBH Kibing president Lin Hai.

Witnessing the ceremony was Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

Joachim said the agreement was another important milestone in terms of generating investments into the state and increasing the contribution of the manufacturing sector towards the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) while providing business and employment opportunities to the people.

"KKIP has attracted over 3.42 billion worth of investment and created over 10,000 jobs from the 242 operating factories so far,” he said. — Bernama