SITE-CLEARING and earthwork for Sarawak’s latest hydroelectric dam project at Baleh in the upper reaches of the Rajang River will start next month.

The Baleh dam, designed to generate 1,285 megawatt (Mw) of electricity, is by far bigger than the highly controversial Murum dam, which became operational in 2015.

The Murum dam, which displaced thousands of tribal people, including the Penans, can generate 944Mw of power. The Bakun dam remains the state’s largest, generating 2,400Mw of power.

“Baleh HEP (hydroelectric project) is going to be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Sarawak and we hope to complete this project by 2025,” said Aisah Eden, Sarawak Energy Bhd executive vice-president for corporate services.

Local contractors would get priority on the RM2billion project.

Aishah added that the Baleh dam, located about 95km from the confluence of Sungai Rajang and Baleh deep in the sparsely populated interior of the Kapit division, would involve no resettlement.

A new township would also be hacked out of the jungle near Tunoh to support the Baleh dam project. Kapit, the nearest town, is at least 100km away by river and 40-60km by the road that is under construction.

The Baleh hydroelectric dam is one of a dozen Sarawak had planned to build as part of its ambitious plan to industrialise the state. It hopes to offer cheap green energy to power-guzzling industries in the industrial belt, popularly known as SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy).

The push to start Baleh came after former chief minister Adenan Satem, who died more than three months ago, abandoned plans for the Baram hydroelectric dam because of stiff opposition from local tribes, human rights groups and civil society organisations locally and abroad.

The Baram dam would have displaced some 20,000 people, buried underwater dozens of century-old longhouses and thousands of hectares of pristine forests and farmlands. – May 10, 2017.