The grant, bestowed through the government's Public Private Partnership Unit, was given to Tawau Green Energy Sdn. Bhd. (TGE), in which Continental Energy holds a 10 percent stake.
"This grant reaffirms the strong commitment and firm resolve that both the Government of Malaysia and the Government of Sabah have in solving electrical power generation capacity shortfalls in Sabah utilizing renewable energy sources," said Continental Energy CEO Richard L. McAdoo, who is also the Geotechnical Director of TGE.
"This kind of fiscal incentive is essential to any green field renewable energy project's success. Our recognition of this vital Government support was one of the principle factors in our recent decision to invest in TGE," McAdoo continued. "The management of TGE has done an excellent job in highlighting the benefits of the Apas Kiri geothermal energy development to the people of Sabah and this grant is a remarkable demonstration of the Government's strong commitment of support for the timely implementation of the project."
TGE is developing a geothermal energy resource at a site named Apas Kiri, located in the southern portion of the Malaysian State of Sabah near the city of Tawau. Apas Kiri will be Malaysia's first geothermal energy development. It is expected to come online by early 2015 with a rated net capacity of 30 MW.
Under the Facilitation Funds Agreement (FFA), the grant funding will be disbursed by BPMB, a development bank owned by the Malaysian Government and mandated to provide medium to long term financing to capital intensive development and infrastructure projects.
The proceeds of the grant are to be exclusively utilized by TGE to pay for costs associated with constructing access roads and making related infrastructure improvements involving the Apas Kiri geothermal power development.
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