Go-ahead for Sarawak’s 12 dam projects

(NST) KUCHING: Sarawak will go ahead with the construction of 12 hydropower dams in its interior, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said yesterday.

He said despite world criticisms against construction of the dams, they were needed for developmental purposes and also to meet the state's power demands, adding the dams would conform to world standards.

He said this when opening the International Conference on Engineering and Education, organised by the Institution of Engineers of Malaysia, here.

He said a great deal of study would be done so that the construction would not threaten the environment.

The dams are expected to generate a combine power of 20,000 megawatt when completed in 2030.

"We will study the experiences of countries which have similar dams," he said,

Taib said heavy industries which require power from the hydropower dams would be professionally and efficiently managed by experts recruited from around the world.

He also said the dams would give vast opportunities to the state on how it could modernise its development efforts, especially in central Sarawak where the Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy has been identified.

Taib did not think that the dams would bring about a climate change in Sarawak.

Meanwhile, IEM president Datuk Keizrul Abdullah said IEM would build a centre for engineering excellence on a piece of land granted by the state government in central Sarawak.

"The centre will be dedicated to the development of post-graduate research and development programmes in engineering and the enhancement of learning through active involvement of local and international experts," he added.

Later, Keizrul conferred Taib the IEM Honorary Fellowship Award for outstanding services to the engineering profession.