New Straits Times, June 21, 2008
USM research park pulls
in RM20m investments
By Marina Emmanuel
UNIVERSITI Sains Malaysia (USM) has attracted RM20
million in capital investments from local companies
which will operate at its new research park at Bukit
Jambul on Penang Island.
USM is set to ink memorandums of understanding
(MOUs) with several companies tomorrow, which will
include the government's investment arm Khazanah
Nasional Bhd, Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp)
and Biotropics Malaysian Bhd.
The sains@usm Bukit Jambul park will boast, among
others, incubator laboratories, government-linked
company research centres and those operated by
multinational corporations, USM research and
innovation division director Professor Zainul
Fadziruddin Zainuddin said.
"The MOU with Biotropics (a company which is
developing natural products) is for the setting up
of a laboratory for standardisation of natural
products for clinical trials, while BiotechCorp will
be using the park to disperse nanotechnology to
other universities in the country," he told Business
Times.
Zainul added that USM has also secured RM23 million
worth of research commercialisation grants from the
Malaysian Development Technology Corp, which will be
used in part for start-up operations and pilot
plants at the new park.
In March this year, USM had purchased a 12.4ha plot
at Bukit Jambul for RM59 million from IJM Properties
Sdn Bhd.
Zainul, who is set to head the development of the
park, said that USM will set up a company to manage
the research park, which will also boast a boutique
hotel, convention and exhibition centre, performing
arts centre and arts colony, along with retail space
and apartments.
"We want to create an environment for local and
international academia and businesses to interact
and synergise," he said, adding that among the
economic potentials of the park would be to foster
innovation, technology transfer, commercialisation
of technology, while serving as a springboard for
new intellectual property creations.
Zainul said while USM will seek public funding for
some of the projects at the park, which will be
carried out in three phases, other projects will be
done via joint ventures.
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