Massive Timber Project Under Discussion

A JOINT Malaysia/ South Korean team arrived in Georgetown on Thursday night for their fourth visit here to set up the framework for a possible investment of/US$110m in the timber industry, including a power plant costing US$20m.

The Malaysian company is SAMLING and the South Korean company SUN KYONG. Sun Kyong is an integrated company with a turnover in 1988 of US$8 bln. It has investments in timber in Indonesia and in Malaysia jointly with Samling and timber accounts for about twenty per cent of its turnover.

Both companies export a large quantity of timber to the US. In 1989 Sun Kyong exported US$397m but they cannot supply the demand and they hope the Guyana operation will help in this respect, reports said.

The companies are looking at the North West District for their operations and at this stage they are going through the forest to inventorise the types of wood found here. Extensive samples were sent to them by the Local company Mondeen Industries Ltd.

Reports say the companies are seriously interested in investing here and have invited a local team to visit South Korea next week for discussions. The head of the Department of International Economic Co-operation (DIEC) Dr. Cecil Rajana and head of the Guyana Natural Resources Agency (GNRA) Mr. Winston King will be going.

And late April, the President of SUN KYONG is due to visit this country.

A Draft proposal from SUN KYONG was submitted in December last and the Guyana Natural Resources Agency, the Department of International Economic Co-operation and the Guyana Forestry Commission have evaluated it. A response is being finalised and is to be discussed in Korea.

If the project fructifies, the joint company will have a general milling operation and export logs for the first five years. After that, logging will cease and the company will manufacture and export end products of a wide variety.