金融时报报道说,
马来西亚和中国同意以110亿美元将马来西亚北部婆罗洲沙捞越的一块巨大区域转变为矿业和能源开发的工业走廊。
根据官方报道,整套项目包括建立至少四个水电站大坝(高达28,000兆瓦),铝冶炼厂和钢铁厂,煤矿(14.6亿吨),以及天然气开发(将近410亿立方英尺)。
人们预期这项计划能够推动马来西亚目前未开发区域的工业化——这些雨林地区现在还保存着原始游牧部落和珍稀动植物。环保人士说,这些项目将会导致本土种群的迁徙,破坏生态系统,危及生物多样性而且促进马来西亚温室气体的排放。一些批评家认为该计划还标志着马来西亚半岛以技术和知识为基础的产业向能源密集型农业产业转变。但是由于马来西亚在过去的两年发生了大量资本外流的骚乱,使得这些项目得到了州和联邦各级政府的强力支持。政府官员希望该计划能够为这个区域吸引外国投资。
Malaysia and China agree to $11 billion deal to build mines, dams in Borneo
Malaysia and China have agreed to an $11 billion deal that will turn a vast area of Sarawak, a Malaysian state in northern Borneo, into an industrial corridor for mining and energy development, reports The Financial Times.
The suite of projects includes at least four hydroelectric dams (up to 28,000MW of power), aluminum-smelting and steel plants, coal mines (1.46 billion metric tons), and natural gas development (nearly 41 billion cubic feet), according the state government.
The scheme is expected to drive industrial development in a part of Malaysia that is still largely undeveloped — nomadic tribes and rare wildlife still stalk rainforests in the area. Environmentalists say the projects will displace indigenous groups and destroy important ecosystems, endangered biodiversity and contributing to Malaysia’s surging greenhouse gas emissions. Some critics argue the plan also marks a move away from technology and knowledge-based industries of peninsular Malaysia, towards energy-intensive extractive industries. But with Malaysia reeling from an exodus of capital over the past two years, the projects have strong support at the state and federal levels. Officials hope the plan will attract foreign investment to the region.