DALAT (Nov 30): The Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (Centexs) Dalat is set to be a catalyst for green maritime innovation and high-value vocational training in the Mukah division, said Centexs chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.
The new campus, which cost about RM40 million, will serve as a training and testbed hub for future technologies, including hydrogen-based maritime systems and exoskeleton robotics, he said in his speech during the launch of the campus.
"Centexs Dalat can train up to 500 students at a time, and is expected to reach 1,000 trainees annually.
"The campus has 10 lecture rooms, four workshops, language and digital labs, hostel facilities for 200 students, a cafeteria, multipurpose hall, and industry-grade technology centres," he said.
Morshidi noted the programmes offered at Centexs Dalat would complement those at Centexs Mukah.
"While the Mukah campus focuses on oil and gas, plantation, digital and green energy sectors, the Dalat campus will develop skills relevant to coastal and rural industries, including fibreglass boat construction, electrical and wireman certification, digital marketing, fashion technology and elderly care."
He said there are 10,828 registered fishermen in Sarawak, and about 30 per cent are already using fibreglass boats, thus maritime composite training will directly benefit local communities.
He also said the Centexs Dalat's Language Technology centre offers English, Mandarin and Melanau proficiency courses to strengthen technological access while protecting cultural identity.
"Mandarin opens access to Chinese technology, while English serves global communication. At the same time, the Melanau language must be preserved as identity and culture," he said.
Meanwhile, Morshidi announced that Centexs has developed a five-metre-long, hydrogen-powered catamaran that is silent, emission-free, and sustainable.
He said the catamaran was developed and tested through Centexs' research programme.
"It uses hydrogen fuel cells paired with a battery energy storage system to produce clean electric power with zero emissions, and runs silently for over 10 hours with speeds of up to 15km/h.
"This project is silent, emission-free and sustainable. More importantly, it becomes an educational catalyst for green energy in the maritime sector. The technology is being expanded to Dalat after its initial development in Kuching with Solarvest and Huawei," he said.
During the ceremony, four Memorandums of Understanding were also exchanged between Centexs, Huawei, Gamuda Technologies Sdn Bhd, Taylor's University, and DSM Konsortium Sdn Bhd to expand collaborative training modules and industry-aligned development.