Malaysia: Merapoh state rejects ideas for cement plant

Cement plant plans in Malaysia's Pahang state are to lose out to an ecotourism project. The Pahang state government has promised that there will be no cement production plant at Merapoh, but will ensure a plan to convert the area to an ecotourism destination.

Pahang Tourism and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin said they were now surveying the size of the area to be gazetted for ecotourism purposes.

The land was held by Bintang Tower, while the cement manufacturing licence was held by Lipis Cement since 1997, although the project never took off. Concerns over the project’s revival arose when Singapore-based company, ASN Cement, expressed interest in restarting the project in late 2011.

MNS president Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed praised the state government’s rejection of the cement plant project. “We are very happy. This shows the state government is serious about conservation and using ecotourism as a means of generating income,” he said, adding that Sabah was a good example to follow.