KUALA LUMPUR: Nextgreen Global Bhd (Nextgreen), a pulp and paper manufacturer, along with IOI Corporation Bhd's indirect unit, IOI Paper Pulp Sdn Bhd, have signed a shareholders' agreement to establish Malaysia's first large-scale zero-waste paper pulp plant.
The plant will be developed within Nextgreen's 410-acre Green Technology Park in Pekan, Pahang.
Under the agreement, a new private limited company named Nextgreen IOI Pulp Sdn Bhd (NIP) will be formed, with Nextgreen holding a 55 per cent stake and IOI holding the remaining 45 per cent. NIP will operate a paper pulp production facility, initially capable of producing 100,000 metric tonnes per annum of chemical bleached pulp made from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using Nextgreen's patented preconditioning refiner chemical-recycle bleached mechanised pulp (PRC-RBMP) technology.
This development phase is expected to take 18 to 24 months and cost approximately RM600 million.
The collaboration aims to transform agricultural waste like EFB into green and sustainable products such as woodfree paper, tissue paper, premium packaging paper, and pulp molded packaging.
Nextgreen managing director Datuk Lim Thiam Huat said the company will contribute its technical knowledge and the rights to use its patented PRC-RBMP technology.
"By adopting the waste-to-value concept, this bio-integrated zero waste process ensures that by-products from every part of the pulp production process is fully utilised through conversion into green products and renewable energy in a closed-loop system.
"This collaborative venture unifies our proactive ESG measures, contributing actively to the nation's efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," he said in a statement today.
IOI Group managing director and chief executive Datuk Lee Yeow Chor emphasised the significance of utilising palm-based biomass for value-added applications within the circular economy.
He said that alongside the palm wood venture, which utilises oil palm trunks, this joint venture will play a pivotal role in helping IOI Group make significant strides towards achieving its group-wide Net Zero emissions target.