SARAWAK Energy Berhad has completed its takeover of the 2,400megawatt (Mw) Bakun hydroelectric dam in Ulu Belaga from the federal government.

The state-owned energy development and power utility company completed the RM2.5 billion share purchase from the Ministry of Finance’s subsidiary Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd (SHSB) today with the signing and close-out of items detailed in the share sale agreement.

The acquisition is being funded through a mix of internally generated funds and sukuk financing.

SEB said the agreement to acquire Bakun was completed at Sarawak Hidro’s office in Selangor in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Pesuruhjaya Tanah Persekutuan, the other minor shareholder.

The dam will now be operated by SEB Power Sdn Bhd – a wholly owned unit of SEB.

The Ministry of Finance will under the share sale agreement, maintain the current letter of undertaking and government guarantee on Sarawak Hidro’s existing debts, SEB said in a statement.

SEB group chief executive officer Sharbini Suhaili said the takeover would allow SEB to consolidate power production in the state by having full ownership and operatorship of all major electricity generation facilities.

Although the dam was first approved by the government in 1986, its construction only began in 1996 and the original aim was to meet growing demand for electricity in the peninsula.

The electricity was to be transmitted by 730km overhead high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission lines in Sarawak, 670km of undersea HVDC cables and 300km of lines in the peninsula.

The plan was eventually scuttled due to the astronomical cost of the line.

The dam, commissioned in 2011, was controversial as it displaced close to 9,000 indigenous natives as its reservoir covers 700 sq km – equivalent to the size of Singapore. – August 16, 2017.