The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has asked the federal government to build a 300MW natural gas power plant in Sabah, now that the plan for a coal-fired plant has been rejected.

SAPP president Yong Teck Lee said today a natural gas power plant would provide cleaner energy and would be cheaper and faster to build than a coal-fired plant.

He said in a statement that a gas pipeline from Kimanis to Sandakan or Tawau might cost RM1.2 billion, which would be much less than the RM1.7 billion to build a coal-fired power plant.

Yong said a natural gas power plant was a sensible solution after the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) of the proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu was rejected.

Yesterday, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun confirmed the decision of the Department of Environment to reject the DEIA, saying the decision was based on facts submitted by the proponents of the project.

- Bernama