KL plans $2b oil pipeline

KL plans $2b oil pipeline

TOKYO (AFP): Companies from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand will set up a consortium in April to build an oil pipeline across the Malaysian peninsula at a cost of US$2 billion, officials said yesterday.

The decision to set up the consortium, led by Japanese plant engineer Chiyoda Corp. and Malaysian developer East West Bridge, followed a series of feasibility studies, Chiyoda officials said.

Other participants include Japanese trading houses Mitsui and Co. Ltd. and Marubeni Corp. as well as the governments of Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand, the officials said.

Construction is to start in 1999 with initial operations scheduled for 2001. The pipeline will stretch for 190 kilometers (118 miles) between Alor Setar in Malaysia and Sai Buri in Thailand, and will be capable of carrying two million barrels of crude oil a day.