BATU GAJAH (Aug 22): About 77 percent of Perak’s natural gas pipeline project, which stretches for 140 km from Ayer Tawar, Manjung to Lembah Kinta has been completed, and is expected to be ready by the middle of next year.

Gas Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Ahmad Hashimi Abdul Manap said so far, six factories in Perak had benefited from the project.

“We hope to get up to 40 industry customers. The most important thing is the completion of the project,” he told a press conference during a visit to Nihon Canpack (M) Sdn Bhd’s factory here, today.

Nihon Canpack is one of the companies which had benefited from the natural gas pipeline project.

Also present were Ministry of International Trade and Industry secretary-general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, State Investment, Industry and Regional Development Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and Nihon Canpack’s chief executive officer Wolfgang Joseph Reitz.

The project is expected to benefit 44 companies located along the pipeline, as well as new industry entrepreneurs and future investors.

It would also lead to the creation of more industries which use gas as a main raw material, such as glove, glass, chemicals, steel, textiles and ceramic manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Nizar said the use of natural gas is expected to save up to RM2 million in costs.

He added that most of the maintenance and operational issues at the industrial sites have been identified, including potholed roads.

“The State Government will appoint a third party with expertise in industrial sites to solve infrastructural problems such as potholed roads in order to reduce dependence on the local authorities,” he said.