SEB conducts briefing on Baleh HEP for local communities

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The briefing garnered good participation from the communities in Baleh and Kapit.

The briefing garnered good participation from the communities in Baleh and Kapit.

KAPIT: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) recently conducted a briefing for key stakeholders in Baleh and Kapit to give them a clearer understanding of the opportunities and socio-economic benefits that will be brought about by the construction of the Baleh Hydroelectric Project (HEP).

According to a press release yesterday, about 120 people comprising local contractors, entrepreneurs, community and association leaders and villagers from Baleh and Kapit attended the briefing at the Resident and District Office here.

The briefing was part of the corporation’s initiative to ensure informed proactive consultation and engagements particularly with those who will be indirectly affected by the Baleh HEP. The intention is also to encourage local participation. There will be no resettlement of communities needed for the dam’s construction.

As SEB subscribes to the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol of the International Hydropower Association, the corporation is committed to carrying out regular stakeholder engagement on the principle of free, prior and informed consultation to allow communities to express their rights to give their opinions and voice their grievances on proposed projects that may affect them.

The briefing was conducted by SEB corporate social responsibility head Jiwari Abdullah and Baleh HEP project director Ir Tan Chuan Ngan, supported by community relations advisor Stell Sindau and SEB’s CSR and project team.

Also present at the briefing were Kapit Division Deputy Resident Galong Luang and Temenggong Tan Kian Hoo.

The briefing featured updates on the progress of Baleh HEP and the available scope of works under local content for contractors and entrepreneurs in Baleh and Kapit. The construction of Baleh HEP is expected to create business opportunities that can be potentially tapped by the locals and about 3,500 jobs of various skill grades during the implementation of the project.

These opportunities are in the form of infrastructure/facility construction like operators’ village, civil works, maintenance, transmission and distribution works and biomass removal as well as the supply of goods and services.

To ensure local youth are ready for employment opportunities, SEB has also begun providing skills training this year for them at local training institutions like National Youth Skills Institute (Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara) and Industrial Training Institute (Institut Latihan Perindustrian).

Within the next two years, SEB is expected to support the training of around 500 youths from Baleh.

The skills training will centre on welding, scaffolding, rigging/ slinging/ working at heights, blasting and coating, safety, and handling heavy vehicles and machineries like bulldozers, excavators, rollers as well as electrical, mechanical, administration, human resources and entrepreneurship courses. These courses have been identified as relevant to the project from its implementation stage until completion.

Commenting on the skills training, Jiwari said; “As a responsible project implementer, SEB is committed to working closely with the community of Baleh for the successful implementation of the Baleh HEP which is bound to trigger economic opportunities for the people here and also for Sarawakians all over.

“At this initial stage of the project alone, we have already started preparing the community, especially the young people, to enable them to take up the jobs following the construction of Baleh HEP by equipping them with the needed skills and knowledge,” he said.

The ‘Baleh HEP: Skill Training for Baleh Youth’, aligned with SEB’s CSR community investment focus on education and young people, will see the youths being absorbed into internship programmes after training and also undergoing coaching on soft skills to prepare them for the job market.