Lynas says Kuantan better choice than Kemaman
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Lynas Corp denied being rejected Terengganu, instead said it followed Putrajaya’s recommendation to locate its rare earth metals plant in Pahang’s Gebeng which had better infrastructure.
The Australian miner clarified why Terengganu’s Kemaman was not its chosen site, but rather the industrial zone close to Kuantan in an exclusive with The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
It also said that it was the lack of infrastructure in Australia that forced it to build its RM700 plant in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia after China refused to exempt it from rare earth export quotas.
“We got all our environmental permits for Kemaman. We moved because we were advised by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA). The Gebeng region was likely to be better for us given the industrial hub that was to develop in the long term,” explained executive chairman Nicholas Curtis.
PKR vice president Fuziah Salleh has claimed that Teluk Kalung, an industrial town in the Kemaman district, was the first port of call for Lynas but had turned down the Australian miner four years ago after consulting environmentalists and other radiation experts.
