KUCHING, Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd is set to invest RM200 million to establish large-scale commercial bamboo plantations within licensed planted forest (LPF) areas across Sarawak. The initiative will be rolled out in phases.
The company formalised the plan through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) during Sarawak Week 2025 at the Expo Osaka 2025 in Japan last week. The MoU was signed by Pertama Ferroalloys deputy president Yuki Nakamura and STIDC general manager Zainal Abidin Abdullah, witnessed by Sarawak Deputy Premier and Minister for International Trade, Industry and Investment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Under the agreement, STIDC will support Pertama Ferroalloys by identifying suitable LPF areas for bamboo cultivation, providing high-quality seedlings, and offering technical expertise in bamboo resource management.
Currently, Sarawak has approved 43 LPF licences covering 2.3 million hectares of land for forest plantation projects. The partnership is expected to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for Pertama Ferroalloys, reducing reliance on imports such as wood charcoal and cork, while also creating opportunities for value-added bamboo-based industries in collaboration with local communities.
Pertama Ferroalloys – formerly known as AML Manganese (M) Sdn Bhd – operates a manganese and ferroalloys smelting facility in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu.
This initiative also aligns with STIDC’s Sarawak Bamboo Industry Development Masterplan 2020–2030, launched five years ago to transform bamboo into a new growth industry. The masterplan targets the cultivation of at least 20,000 hectares of bamboo plantations for industrial purposes, projected to generate RM200 million in export earnings by 2030. 
Of this, at least 10,000 hectares will be developed in partnership with LPF holders and native customary rights landowners. LPF holders currently grow fast-maturing species such as acacia mangium and oil palm.
STIDC also aims to spearhead 200 bamboo community projects involving smallholders, fostering inclusive growth. By 2030, Sarawak envisions the establishment of diverse bamboo-based industries, ranging from charcoal, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles, pulp and paper, food, and handicrafts, to engineered bamboo products like bamboo ply, strand-woven bamboo, and glued-laminated bamboo.
Bamboo, with a life cycle of 50 to 80 years, is recognised as a renewable and sustainable raw material, making it a cornerstone of Sarawak’s long-term green industrial strategy.
