KUCHING: All the electricity generated by the Bakun and Murum hydroelectric dams has been sold, the bulk of it going to energy-intensive industries in Samalaju Industrial Park.
Stating this, Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) chief executive officer Datuk Ismawi Ismuni said it was, therefore, wrong to allege that Bakun is a failed project.
Ismawi was responding to a question from a participant at the 2019 Sarawak Investment and Business Summit after his presentation on “Energy and Industry — Driving Future Growth in Sarawak.”
Bakun dam has an installed capacity of 2,400MW and Murum dam 944MW.
To another question, Ismawi said Sarawak had objected to the plan to sell Bakun power to Peninsular Malaysia because that would help to industrialise the peninsula.
“We want to get the industries to Sarawak (by keeping Bakun power),” he added.
Ismawi said as industries in Samalaju Industrial Park require more power, Sarawak is therefore constructing the Baleh dam, which will generate 1,285MW when it comes on stream in 2026.
He said the development of the Bakun, Murum and Baleh dams had provided Sarawak with comparative advantage to attract energy-intensive industries.
“About 30 percent and 40 percent of the operational costs of these energy intensive industries go into power consumption,” he added. These industries include aluminium, ferroalloy and manganese smelters.
“Hydro power is classified as a renewable energy. It will not leave behind a carbon footprint.
“Many investors come to Sarawak (to set up manufacturing plants) because they know hydro power is renewable,” said Ismawi.
Responding to claims that dam construction causes environmental damage, he said before Sarawak embarks on the construction of any dam, it undertakes a social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) study.
Earlier in his presentation, Ismawi said SCORE, which was launched in 2008, had recorded the approval of 24 projects, with private investments of RM39.94 billion.
He said the seven main investors in Samalaju Industrial Park, which have invested a combined US$23.1 billion, are now generating monthly spin-off economic activities amounting to RM506.2 million into the Bintulu economy.
“Samalaju Industrial Park has become the icon of SCORE. Covering 8,000 hectares, we developed it in stages over the last 10 years.
“We have managed to attract the trigger industries. Then, we have to bring in the downstream industries.”
He disclosed a plan to conduct another comprehensive study on SCORE to prepare its development up to 2050.
