Thai investors met with officials from Banteay Meanchey province to discuss a plan to build a jatropha processing factory and plant 1,000 hectares in the crop
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:03:54 -0700 (PDT)
Thai firms discuss jatropha plant plans
Wednesday, 30 September 2009 15:01 May Kunmakara
THAI investors met with officials from Banteay Meanchey province last
week to discuss a plan to build a jatropha processing factory and
plant 1,000 hectares in the crop, which is considered a key candidate
for biodiesel production.
The director of the Banteay Meanchey Commerce Department, Kong Bunly,
said he met with nine representatives of private firms from Thailand
Friday to discuss their plans.
“We told them that we already have 500 hectares of farmland in Thma
Puok district they could plant with the crop, and that we would help
them find the rest, or they can cooperate with locals,” he said.
He said total investment figures were not discussed but assumed it
would be less than US$1 million, meaning the project could be approved
locally rather than having to be sent to central government.
No timetable had been determined, but Kong Bunly said he hoped work on
the project would commence within a month.
Heng Bunhor, director of the provincial Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Department, said the investors were not looking for
concession land but were instead seeking to cooperate with landowners
in the area to produce the cash crop.
He expected the investors would purchase additional jatropha from
surrounding areas, as the proposed capacity of the plant would require
more raw material than could be harvested from 1,000 hectares under
cultivation.
Around 3,000 hectares in the province have been planted with jatropha
out of a total of 30,000 hectares of upland set aside for agriculture,
he said. Farmers have planted 26,000 hectares of cassava, he added,
which can also be used as a biofuel feedstock.
Kong Bunly said the project would provide jobs and boost the standard
of living in the area.
.
- Prev by Date: The United States provide more than 1 million dollars to repair and upgrade buildings of several schools in Pursat province
- Next by Date: The developer of a conference centre on Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich Island is racing against time to complete a portion of the under-construction building in time for the start of the wedding season
- Previous by thread: The United States provide more than 1 million dollars to repair and upgrade buildings of several schools in Pursat province
- Next by thread: The developer of a conference centre on Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich Island is racing against time to complete a portion of the under-construction building in time for the start of the wedding season
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
