Project Location

The project is located near the existing Kuantan Port in Gebeng, Kuantan in the state of Pahang. Also located near the site is a naval base for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The Gebeng Industrial Estate, which is a host to several major industries including petro-chemical industries, is also located nearby.

The chosen location offers a number of distinctive advantages as discussed below:

    a)   Proximity to the offshore oil & gas upstream activities in the South China Sea. The offshore activities are located some 35-145 nautical miles from the coast of the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang as well as the Joint Operation Area with between Malaysia and Thailand, East Coast Offshore Area (“ECOA”)   and off the coast of Sabah and Sarawak, Sabah/Sarawak Offshore Area (“SSOA”). OSVs play an important in providing the necessary logistics and supply support to oil exploration and drilling platforms and other types of structures.

    b)    Proximity to the Kuantan Port that caters for both container and bulk cargo. The port has grown at about 11.45% CAGR since it began operation in 1984 supporting the economic activities of the east coast states, in particular the oil palm related activities of hinterland Pahang. The total number of ships that called at the port in 2011 reached 2440 vessels.

    c)   The site overlooks the international shipping lane east ‘Southeast Asia’ and west ‘Southeast Asia’. Ships from countries in the Pacific Rim like Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong passed through the lane on their way to ports in Singapore and west cost of Peninsula Malaysia and thereafter to West Asia, Africa and Europe.

    d)     Located within the Kertih-Cukai-Gebeng hub of the East Coast Economic Region (“ECER”) which has been earmarked for petrochemical downstream activities. The hub offers integrated oil and gas value chain, from upstream activities (exploration, extraction and offshore support services) to downstream activities (petrochemical manufacturing). 

    e)    Being located to existing establishment such as the Gebeng Industrial Estate, the   port and naval base as well as other type of development ensures readily available supply of required utilities such as electricity, water, gas pipeline and telephone lines.

    
     The Site

     The site has easy access by road via the state road, Jalan Pelabuhan ¾, which bypass the western edge of the project site. It has a direct access to the South China Sea. It is understood that the Tanjung Gelang Hill range that separate the site from the Kuantan Port and the naval base provides a natural shelter for the Project from the strong North-easterly winds and high waves during the monsoon months.

     Study of the sea-bed around the site indicates that it has a natural draught at minus 10 to minus 15, enabling the cost of dredging to be kept low. See detail contour of the sea bed off the coast of the project site.