Industrial Parks in Sabah: KKIP, POIC Lahad Datu and SOGIP Compared

What are Sabah's main industrial parks?

Sources: KKIP Sdn Bhd and its 2022 masterplan; POIC Lahad Datu; SOGDC. Sizes are as published by each operator and are not directly comparable: SOGIP's figure includes offshore area.

KKIP, Sepanggar

The Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park is Sabah's largest. KKIP Sdn Bhd gives its area as 8,320 acres; its masterplan, updated in September 2022, shows 4,130 acres gazetted and 4,190 acres not yet gazetted. KKIP says the park hosts 22 research, development and training institutions and four independent power plants with up to 650 MW.

In November 2024, state industrial development minister Phoong Jin Zhe said KKIP had drawn RM11.2 billion of investment from 341 companies since 1994, creating 14,608 full-time jobs, with only 101.17 hectares of undeveloped land left.

Gas matters here: SE-RAMP says gas reaches five power plants in KKIP and Kimanis (137 MMscfd in total), and gas for east coast users is supplied as LNG from a micro-LNG plant in KKIP and delivered by a virtual pipeline system in ISO tank containers. More on our KKIP guide.

POIC Lahad Datu

The Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Lahad Datu was set up by the Sabah state government in 2005 for palm oil downstream industries. POIC says the park is planned to cover more than 4,400 acres, of which 2,000 acres have been developed with infrastructure and utilities, and it runs its own port with container, dry bulk and liquid bulk terminals and a barge berth.

In March 2023 the federal Finance Ministry gave in-principle approval for POIC to become a Free Trade Zone. Status as of September 2026: we have not found confirmation of the zone's gazettement.

In April 2025 the state minister said 119 factories were operating in Lahad Datu, with RM3.66 billion invested and 7,305 jobs. That figure is for Lahad Datu as a whole, not POIC alone.

SOGIP, Sipitang

The Sipitang Oil & Gas Industrial Park, managed by the Sabah Oil & Gas Development Corporation (SOGDC), covers up to 5,539 acres: 3,068 acres onshore and 2,471 acres offshore. SOGDC lists PETRONAS Chemicals Fertiliser Sabah Sdn Bhd as the operator of its urea fertiliser plant. See our SOGIP guide for details.

Are new industrial parks planned?

In November 2024 the state minister said his ministry was preparing a master plan for new industrial parks in Kota Belud, Kudat and Kimanis, with development expected to start under the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026–2030) and a focus on high-tech industries and the blue economy. Status as of September 2026: we have not found the master plan published.

What do the federal plans say?

• RMK13: credits the expansion of KKIP with bringing Sabah more investment in the 12th Plan, and lists KKIP among the corridors and specialised production hubs to be explored to develop local economic potential.
• NIMP 2030: names Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah as the states contributing least to Malaysia's manufacturing value-added. It says Sabah's oil and gas, timber, minerals and palm oil offer opportunities for downstream manufacturing instead of exporting them raw, and that Sabah's current energy insufficiency can be addressed by exploring renewable energy.
• NIMP target: for less developed states, manufacturing value-added to rise from 22% of state GDP (2021) to 30–35% by 2030. See where Sabah is heading.

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