| James Kon |
JAPANESE company Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd (NSC) is planning to develop parts of Temburong, known as the Green Jewel of Brunei, into an eco-friendly town, which is hoped to further boost its appeal as a tourist destination.
The plans to develop Temburong was revealed by the Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam Motohiko Kato in his presentation on ‘Energy Policy and Eco Policy in Japan’, during the closing ceremony of a series of events titled the ‘Japan Experience’ at the Jerudong International School (JIS) on Thursday.
Kato said, “It is my hope that cooperation between Brunei and Japan on projects such as this will allow us to maximise the potential of new energy resources and sustainable ways of living, so both countries can move into an era of clean, renewable energy.”
He then mentioned the hydrogen supply chain demonstration project, for which Chiyoda Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation Ltd and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) are building a hydrogen plant in Brunei Darussalam, as part of the world’s first global hydrogen supply chain.
“In Japan, the demand for hydrogen is noticeably increasing. Japanese companies are about to start a project in collaboration with the Government of Brunei Darussalam to produce hydrogen from natural gas. This will then be transported to Japan in the form of liquid hydrogen.
“Although this project is still in the demonstration stages only, it has huge potential and could soon become a full-scale operation,” the envoy said.
Kato also extended his appreciation to Brunei for contributing to Japan’s energy security.
“The Mitsubishi Corporation from Japan has cooperated with the Brunei Government and Shell Brunei since 1972 when they built a factory to produce liquefied natural gas and transport it to Japan,” he said, adding that “65 per cent of all the liquefied natural gas produced in Brunei is exported to Japan”.
Meanwhile, in Japan, “Toyota has already begun selling hydrogen-fuelled cars to the public. The hydroelectric vehicle is called Mirai which means ‘future’ in Japanese. This car is equipped with its own hydrogen tank and can run on electricity produced by the combination of hydrogen and oxygen. It never produces C02, but only pure water,” the ambassador said.
The Japanese Government is already considering using hydroelectric vehicles to transport athletes around the city during the Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Construction has also began on roads for the new Linear Motor Car (LMC), which is superior to the bullet train, as it has no metal rails and floats five inches above the track by using magnetic levitation technology, he added.