New company to study deployment of nuke power
A new entity under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) will study the possibility of deploying nuclear energy to meet future needs.
The setting up of the entity, known as Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC), was announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak this morning in Putrajaya.
He also named Mohd Zamzam Jaafar as its chief executive officer. He was formerly the head of the energy unit of TNB.
"(He) will lead the planning based on the current development timeline of 11-12 years, from pre-project to commissioning," said Najib in a statement.
The project is part of 19 entry point projects under ETP, worth RM67 billion, also announced today.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive officer Idris Jala said the government-linked company will take care of the feasibility study, public engagement and ratification.
“We have learnt from international practice that we should have a full-time entity looking into this.
“It is a small team to start with,” he said.
He added that TNB will still run the nuclear plants mooted.
'Feel-good factor is back'
The government recently announced that it intends to build two 1,000 Megawatt plants by 2022, although it has yet to announce where the plants will be located.
This has courted much criticism as public feedback and engagement on the matter has been scant.
Other projects announced today include oil and gas projects worth more than RM10 billion in Johor, Negri Sembilan and Sabah, spearheaded by Shell, Dialog Group Bhd, the Johor government and Vopak.
According to International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, these bumper projects indicate that investment is returning to Malaysian shores.
"The feel good factor, as far as investment is concerned, has returned to Malaysia and the momentum is building... We are targeting RM83 billion in investment in 2011 and with these announcements I believe it is achievable," he said.
