Brunei will be producing 170,000 tons of glass yearly when the first plant for float glass and micro glass beads (MGB) will start operating by 2006. The project, which will create an estimated 240 jobs, will cost US$280M. It will be set up on 16-hectacre piece of land at Sungai Liang, alongside other industries earlier announced by the Brunei Economic Development Board. As of now, the demand for float glass stands at 39M tonnes/year. Analysts have predicted that the demand will grow by 4% each year. They believe that Brunei, because of its location, and the availability of raw materials is an ideal location to establish such a plant. Aside from float glass, the plant is expected to also manufacture MGB for road marking, reflective media, surface treatment and costmetics. There is only one small MGB in the region at the moment located in Thailand.
