By Azrol Azmi

The Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) along with Malaysia-based company HDZ Biodiesel Corporation Sdn Bhd (HDZ) announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in establishing a Biodiesel Project in Brunei Darussalam.

The MoU was signed by Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, in his capacity as Acting Chairman of BEDB, and Dato Ahmad Hisham bin Ahmad Zainal Abidin, the Managing Director of HDZ Biodiesel Corporation.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Deputy CEO of BEDB, Hj Morni Hj Mohamed, and the Chairman of HDZ, General (Rtd) Dato Seri Mohd Azumi Mohamed.

The objective of the MoU is to commit the BEDB and HDZ to jointly collaborate in the implementation of the Biodiesel Project in Brunei Darussalam.

The project will involve the establishment of two biodiesel and glycerine production facilities with capacities of 100,000 metric tonnes per annum in Phase 1 and 400,000 metric tonnes per annum in Phase 2.

The total investment by HDZ for the integrated biodiesel project is US$263 million.

The market outlook for biodiesel in the country is expected to be highly positive, taking into account the measures and efforts that countries are currently pursuing in increasing the utilisation of green fuels.

Such measures include the setting of targets for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, stimulating both domestic production and consumption of biodiesel, and the ratification of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The BEDB is a statutory corporate body established by the Government of Brunei Darussalam to create employment and business opportunities for its local people and SMEs.

Meanwhile HDZ is a Malaysian company that has been especially incorporated to establish an integrated biodiesel and glycerine project in Brunei.

The investment put into the project is made with the view of becoming a competitive player within the industry in Southeast Asia, and HDZ further intends to contribute towards Brunei becoming an efficient producer of alternative energy in the region.

The signed MoU enables both parties to explore opportunities that could be benefited from the project. The project start-date is yet to be announced, but the setting up of plant sites has been proposed.