Bakun Hydroelectric Dam To Start Operations In May 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) -- The Bakun hydroelectric project in Sarawak is expected to be fully operational in May 2011, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday.
Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the main dam was 65.9 per cent completed and was expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2009 with the first turbine to swing into action in October that year.
The overall project was 60 per cent completed physically, he said in reply to Billy Abit Joo (BN-Hulu Rajang) who wanted to know the latest development in the project.
On the supply of electricity generated by the project to peninsular Malaysia via seabed cables, Hilmi said the government was studying the matter and had yet to make a decision.
He said the Bakun hydroelectric project had an install capacity of 2400 megawatts and firm capacity of 1773 megawatts, which was smaller than the nation's overall need.

tunku : this project supposed to be completed in 2005,then 2008. now extend again to 2011. the delays has increased the cost tremendously, i'm sure.with the capacity of 2400megawatts it is too huge for sabah and sarawak.may be the seabed cables to peninsular would be a very good idea.Malaysia's energy policy has traditionally been based on a four-fuel strategy that is gas, oil, hydroelectric and coal. Of these, gas is dominant, with about 70 percent of the country's requirements supplied by gas-fired power plants. During the country's general election in November 1999, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud accused Anwar of sabotaging Bakun and other large development projects in Sarawak. Taib said that in front of the prime minister Anwar supported all development projects in Sarawak, but behind his back he criticized and canceled these projects.
a dubai based company was to build the a 500,000-tonnes-per-year aluminum smelter in Sarawak with a RM2 billion investment to set it up.they had paid deposit to the government but later was rejected by the present government, god knows why.