THE Sandakan palm oil industrial cluster in Sabah will be repurposed to serve as a furniture hub. 

Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said industry in the district had slowed over the years and a new purpose was needed for rejuvenation

He said Sandakan was well placed to be a furniture hub, being close to many forest management units in Lahad Datu and Ranau. 

“With the growing challenges in many industries, Sabah needs to find ways to create value added downstream activities to increase its wood-based income,” he said.

“I have instructed the Industrial Ministry to undertake steps to ensure the amenities such as power supply, water and landscape are prepared for the hub . 

“I think we have around 200ha of land there, “ he said, at the launch of the 2018 Forestry Policy, today. “ 

Shafie, who is on a one-day working visit to Sandakan, said the factories would be able to export their products via the Lahad Datu Port. 

Sabah in May banned the export of round logs, which revenue had hovered around RM150 million a year in recent years, a far from the billion-ringgit industry it was back in the 1950s and  1970s. 

The plan to switch industries in Sandakan wlill see its palm oil activities move to the state’ s other palm oil industrial cluster is in Lahad Datu, also on the east coast of Sabah– December 3, 2018.