SEB chief says building Baleh, Baram dams at the same time will enhance power capacity
A recent file photo of Murum Dam.
KUCHING: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) will construct the Baleh and Baram HEP dams simultaneously to enhance its power generation to meet the needs of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), which is expected to employ some two million people by 2030 and attract investment of some RM300 billion by then, its chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit disclosed recently.
“We will develop both projects in parallel. The social, environmental impact assessment (SEIA) reports for both projects have been delivered but only Baleh has been approved by Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB),” he added.
The CEO, who is now in Beijing leading a SEB delegation to the World Hydropower Congress 2015, said both dams would be ready by 2023/24, but he did not say whether works would commence this year.
The international commission on large dams has recommended that Reservior-Induced Seismicity (RIS) should be considered for reservoirs deeper than 100 metres.
Due to the proximity of the dams to one another, The Borneo Post was alerted by concerned geophysicists that it is even more important that seismological studies be done.
Murum Dam is less than 100 km from Bakun Dam, while the distance from Bakun to the proposed Baleh Dam is also less than 100 km.
When pressed whether seismological studies had been done, especially for Baleh, Torstein confirmed no such studies had been done on both dams and ruled out the necessity to do the studies.
“This is basically not relevant issues. Seismic is not used for this. And it is also not relevant.
“To be clear, whether it is one dam or more it cannot create any earthquake.”
In a paper prepared for the World Commission on Dams, Dr V.P. Jauhari wrote on the RIS phenomenon: “The most widely accepted explanation of how dams cause earthquakes is related to the extra water pressure created in the micro-cracks and fissures in the ground under and near a reservoir.
“When the pressure of the water in the rock increases, it acts to lubricate faults which are already under tectonic strain, but are prevented from slipping by the friction of the rock surface.”
In the book Silenced Rivers: The ecology and politics of large dams, author Patrick McCully conceded that every dam has unique geological characteristics and a thorough understanding of these characteristics is expensive and time-consuming and millions of dollars would have to be spent before it finds that a site is not suitable for a dam.
However, McCully, the authority in dam construction, concluded “the absence of geological problems should be treated as the exception rather than the norm.”
Last Saturday, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem announced that the state government would proceed with the construction of the 1,200 MW Baram HEP Dam after a closed-door meeting with community leaders from the area.
The dam will be constructed on a stretch of the Baram River between Long Naha’a and Long Keseh.
However, unlike Baleh where there is no problem with resettlement, the Baram HEP Dam project might face severe obstacle from the locals partly due to the influence of certain NGOs such as Save Rivers and Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (Indigenous Peoples’ Network of Malaysia) in Baram as it would affect some 20,000 people.
Meanwhile, Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing revealed to The Borneo Post that tenders for the construction of a 5-km access road to the dam site and a jetty had been issued and tender closed.
“There will be two main tenders for the dam, one is the physical construction of the dam and the other mechanical and electrical,” Masing said.
He believed the RM9 billion Baleh hydroelectric power (HEP) project would spur the much-needed economic development in Kapit Division and ensure the people in Baleh have proper infrastructure, especially roads, besides benefitting the people directly as jobs opportunities would certainly be available once the project took off.
“The economic spinoff of the project will be good for the people living in the vicinity of the HEP Dam as they would finally have road access to Kapit and hopefully by then Kapit would be connected to the rest of the state,” Masing told The Borneo Post recently.
On a related matter, Masing disclosed that some of the tenders for related works on the project had been issued.
Of the amount for the massive project, Masing said some RM3 billion would be for construction works while the remaining RM6 billion would be used to purchase equipment and machinery for the dam from overseas.
“So the massive RM3 billion would be beneficial to the people of Kapit as they would have the chance to get jobs that are near to their place instead of looking for jobs elsewhere,” said the Baleh assemblyman.
The Baleh HEP Dam is expected to produce 1,200 MW of electricity when completed and it would auger well to meet the demand for electricity from the local people as well.
“When we have the power, then it’s easy to ask for 24-hour electricity. This will definitely be another direct benefit which we can count on,” he said.