In a statement on Wednesday, Seacera which is involved in tile manufacturing, property development and construction, said it signed two agreements with SME Bank and Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and one MoU with SPNB Edar Sdn Bhd.

One of the agreements involve Islamic banking facilities of RM77.5 million from SME Bank. There is also a RM7.4 million grant by Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju), which has appointed NCIA to manage the distribution of the grant.

The MoU with SPNB is for a possible business collaboration to supply tiles for SPNB’s projects.

The new manufacturing plant on a 33-acre land in Kamunting Industrial Estate, Perak, will be developed in three phases. The first phase of expansion will double production capacity to 12,000 sqm per day compared to the current 6,000 sq m production per day. Seacera has the potential to increase to 24,000 sqm per day once the third phase is completed.

The total cost for the expansion plan stands at RM170 million with targeted completion in September 2016 (phase 1), June 2018 (phase 2) and June 2020 (phase 3).

“The rationale behind constructing our plant in Kamunting is mainly due to its strategic location for logistics activities. In Perak, raw materials are easily obtained and it is cheaper as compared to Klang Valley. To date, there are no other tile manufacturers in that region, and we envisage to be one of the main tile manufacturers that supply tiles to northern cities,” said group MD Zulkarnin Ariffin.

The company intends to secure more in-house projects via their construction outfit. It also targets to increase its revenue from projects and the export segment, from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, and 30 per cent to 40 per cent respectively.