Temporary workers camp at Samalaju: 1st accomodation block completed in 4 weeks
Monday, 31 January 2011, Bintulu: Exactly four weeks since the hand-over of the site at Samalaju Industrial Park, the first block of accommodation at the temporary workers camp is now ready. Following inspection of the facility this afternoon by Bintulu Development Authority officials, Samalaju Property Development was given a temporary Occupational Permit (OP). Chief Executive Officer of Samalaju Property Development, Isaac Lugun, happily received the temporary OP on site, describing it as a milestone achievement against all odds.
Construction is challenging in any site, but construction in a location some 1.5 km from the main road deep into a former oil palm plantation where access is by way of a single temporary road up hills and down steep valleys is indeed a huge challenge. The grave situation is compounded by the fact that works are on-going in the midst of the rainy season. On such days, the access road becomes impassable.
According to Isaac Lugun, “On rainy days, we have a stream of trucks stuck mid-way in the muddy access road, waiting anxiously for the weather to improve so materials can be delivered on site. The weather makes such a difference, especially in a project like this where we are racing against time to complete the accommodation blocks. On sunny days, so much more work can be done.”
Despite it all, by the end of January 2011, the first block of accommodation for 504 workers is ready. Built with pre-fabricated wall components of steel frame and wool core, the accommodation block comprises 28 rooms, sufficient to sleep 18 workers comfortably in each room. The kitchen and dining hall block is nearly ready. In addition, work has already begun on a second accommodation block. In all 9 accommodation blocks, one administration block and a dining hall will be ready by April 2011.
The international standard temporary workers camp at Samalaju Industrial Park is a project for SCORE (the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy) by Samalaju Property Development, a joint venture company between CMS, Naim Cendera and Bintulu Development Authority (BDA). Apart from construction of the workers camp, the JV will also manage the said camp, as well as undertake developments at the new Samalaju township (estimated to be 5,200 acres in size) and other property development works at Samalaju.
The availability of quality, international standard workers facilities is deemed necessary to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into SCORE and Sarawak. Activity at Samalaju, 60 km from Bintulu, is picking up. The coming weeks will see the start of construction of the first industry to locate to the new Samalaju Industrial Park, Tokuyama Corporation of Japan. Tokuyama will be constructing a poly-silicon plant which is targeted for completion within 24 months, by 2013. It is estimated that at the peak of construction, at least 4,000 construction workers will require housing. A further 600 employees will need to be housed when the Plant is operational.
