Malaysia: Sarawak Energy awards Baleh dam contract to Chinese joint venture

Malaysia: Sarawak Energy awards Baleh dam contract to Chinese joint venture

State-owned power provider Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) has awarded the main
civil works contract to construct the Baleh dam to a joint venture between
China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd (CGGC) and local firm Untang Jaya Sdn Bhd.

The contract, to be inked later, will include designing and building the
1,285-megawatts dam in Belaga, its intake structures, spillway and
penstocks.

The design work is expected to start in August this year, while construction
is expected to begin in October 2018.

"The award of works is an important milestone for Baleh dam, one of
Sarawak's largest infrastructure projects, that will generate an additional
1,285 MW of renewable energy to the grid when it is fully commissioned in
2025," SEB's group chief executive officer Sharbini Suhaili said here.

According to Sharbini, the state government had endorsed the construction in
March this year.

The Baleh dam will mark CGGC's first foray into construction in Malaysia, he
said.

"It is an established hydropower specialist with over 40 years of experience
including the construction of at least eight rock filled dams and a further
18 concrete face rock filled dams, the highest being 233 metres," he added.

The major shareholder of CGGC is the China Gezhouba Group Corporation, which
is a core member of state-owned conglomerate China Energy Engineering
Corporation.

Sharbini said the company's main designer, Yellow River Engineering
Consulting Ltd, is an established design consultant with a portfolio of more
than 10 concrete face rockfill dams worldwide.

Meanwhile, Untang Jaya, which will own 30 per cent of the joint venture, is
a Sarawak-registered Class A contractor from the Baleh/Kapit area with
extensive background in construction, said Sharibini.

The 188-metre high Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam Baleh dam will be located on
the Baleh River, about 95 km upstream from its confluence with the Rajang
River in the Kapit Division.

Sharbini said the dam will not involve any community resettlement although
some farmlands are affected.

When completed, Baleh dam will be the fourth dams under SEB's stable after
Batang Ai, Murum and Bakun dams.

The 2,400-MW dam was recently acquired from the federal government at the
cost of RM2.5 billion.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/sarawak-energy-awards-bal
eh-dam-contract-to-chinese-joint-venture

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com