One of the major economic powerhouse in the Southeast Asia region, Malaysia’s robust transformation in the last three decades has been nothing less than extraordinary. The fast-growing cities as well as the rapidly-growing population have brought in a huge challenge in the form of solid waste management. While many firms have joined hands with the government’s strategy to become a leading circular economy, one firm that stands out from the rest in terms of industry expertise, infrastructure, and waste management capability is BERJAYA ENVIROPARKS.
Under the inspiring leadership of Koh Chee Yong, an industry leader with extensive experience of around two and a half decades in the industry and MD at BEP, the firm has grown into becoming a leading solid and scheduled/hazardous waste management service provider in the country.
Overall Industry Experience
Koh Chee Yong did his BE in Civil Engineering and then his MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Science Malaysia in 2000. He started his career as a Construction Site Engineer. Later, he joined the Ministry of Housing & Local Government of Malaysia as an Assistant Director (Civil & Public Health Engineer) of the Technical Division, facilitating the technical and policy aspects related to waste management and new technologies. In 2004, he joined as a Project Manager at a solid waste management concessionaire firm that manages the waste collection, public cleansing, recycling, and sanitary landfill in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia.
In 2009, Koh joined BEP as an Assistant General Manager, where his responsibilities included managing business and project development related to solid waste treatment and disposal, renewable energy, wastewater treatment, and water treatment plants in Malaysia, China, and the Philippines. In 2020, he was promoted to the Managing Director of BEP and other subsidiary companies within the group, now wholly-owned by Naza Corporation Holdings.
Providing Efficient Leadership
As the MD at BEP, Koh is responsible for a wide range of roles and responsibilities at the firm, including establishing organizational goals and responsibilities, designing business & strategic plans, monitoring organizational growth, and managing budgets. He is also actively involved in client and public interaction while motivating and guiding senior executives across the subsidiaries. All in all, his overall responsibility includes maintaining a competitive organizational image in business dealings while ensuring that all the policies are in place.
Since joining BEP in 2009, Koh, along with his team, has successfully developed many notable projects. "We have developed the award-winning project in Bukit Tagar Enviro Park (BTEP), Malaysia that comprises a sanitary landfill, a 12MW landfill gas-to-energy plant, a Scheduled Waste Co-Processing Recycling Plant, and an integrated Sustainable Scheduled Waste Treatment Center. In China, we have successfully developed a sanitary landfill and an industrial wastewater treatment plant Build-Operate-Transfer project in Sanshui District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province as well as several water treatment plants and distribution networks for potable water supply in Longxi District, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province. Lastly, we have also developed a sanitary landfill Build-Operate-Own project in Floridablanca City, Pampanga Province, Philippines", Koh proudly states.
BTEP - The Benchmark Project
A benchmark in solid and scheduled/hazardous waste management in the country, BTEP’s operations started in 2005 with a sanitary landfill equipped with a modern leachate treatment plant for the disposal of solid waste.
The project is well-equipped with a wide range of advanced facilities to treat, recycle, and dispose of both solid and scheduled/hazardous waste, which are a Sanitary Landfill and 12MW Landfill gas-to-energy plant, a 2,200 m3 per day state-of-the-art Leachate Treatment
Plant, a 55,000 tpa 100 percent Scheduled Waste Co-processing Recycling Plant, a 50,000 tpa Integrated Sustainable Scheduled Waste Treatment Center (SSWTC) equipped with Solidification Plant, a Secure Landfill and Scheduled Waste-to-Energy Plant (SWTE).
The team has adopted technologies from developed countries, localizing them to suit the operation requirements and conditions in the Southeast Asia region. The firm is also converting biodegradable wastes into renewable energy via an advanced landfill gas harvesting system and gas engines for connection to the national power grid. BEP's 12MW Landfill Gas-to-Energy plant is currently the largest waste-to-renewable energy producer in the country since 2013.
Offering a Wide Range of Solutions across Industries
In 2015, BEP collaborated with Amita Corporation to venture into the scheduled/hazardous waste management and recycling business. Today, with an annual capacity of 55,000 tons, the Scheduled Waste Co- Processing Recycling Plant in BTEP is the first recycling plant in Malaysia to produce Alternative Raw Material (ARM) and achieve a 100 percent recycling rate. The firm has also achieved a total accumulative carbon credits of 2.7 million CO2 equivalent tons in 2020, ranking No.1 in the South East Asia region by UNFCCC and World Bank.
In 2020, in collaboration with J&T Recycling Corporation Japan and JFE Engineering (M), BTEP expanded its venture into the scheduled/hazardous waste business by incorporating an integrated Sustainable Scheduled Waste Treatment Center (SSWTC) facility for higher operating capacities and a full range of treatment capabilities. Starting its full-scale operations in March 2024, SSWTC provides total solutions to customers in the industrial, medical, and public utility sectors.
Today, BTEP has a total capacity of 105,000 tons per annum across its facilities to adequately treat, recycle, and dispose of all types of scheduled/hazardous waste except radioactive or explosive ones. “Our integrated facility in BTEP is the first in Peninsular Malaysia to provide a total solution for both solid and scheduled/ hazardous waste while complying with the authorities’ standards.
We adopt proven technologies and conduct detailed assessments & research to establish operation guidelines and pre-handling methods that are cost-efficient and appropriate for the local operational conditions towards achieving sustainability”, Koh explains.
While creating value for investors should be the priority, it’s also crucial to foster a sense of responsibility & stewardship towards protecting the environment for future generations
Accomplishments & Leadership Values
An inspiring leader, Koh's core leadership values include setting long and short-term goals, the right standards, and KPIs for excellence and innovation in career development and environmental stewardship. A strong advocate of establishing a conducive and harmonious working environment, he strongly believes in efficient training for junior and senior executives with a strong focus on dual-way communications as well as idea formation for practical solutions.
Throughout his extensive career, Koh, along with his team, has been a part of building and operating several landmark waste management facilities that support the Government and the communities in providing the best solutions for solid and scheduled/hazardous waste management with a constant emphasis on the sustainable circular economy and cradle-to-cradle concept.
Future Roadmap
Coming to the future roadmap, in the next five years, Koh foresees BTEP to have a significant shift in revenue driven by both the concessionary businesses of solid waste & landfill gas management and the private sector businesses of scheduled/hazardous waste management recycling, treatment, and disposal services, positioning them within the niche and specialized segment as the key integrated solid waste and scheduled/hazardous waste facility in South East Asia Region and beyond.
His primary goal is to have BEP as the nation’s preferred solid and scheduled/hazardous waste management service provider. “Moving forward, I intend to further expand our solid and scheduled/ hazardous waste businesses to support the ESG agenda in Malaysia and Asia. While creating value for investors should be the priority, it is also crucial to foster a sense of responsibility and stewardship towards protecting the environment for future generations”, Koh signs off.
Koh Chee, MD, Berjaya Enviroparks
Koh Chee Yong is an accomplished industry leader with extensive experience of around two and a half decades in the solid waste management sector and is currently working as the MD at Kuala Lumpur-based leading Solid Waste Management firm BERJAYA ENVIROPARKS.
In his 15- year career at the firm, he, along with his team, has successfully developed various notable projects in Malaysia, China, and the Philippines. A strong advocate of circular economy as well as having a conducive and harmonious working environment, Koh has done his BE in Civil Engineering as well as MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Science Malaysia.
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