KUCHING, June 29 — State-owned power provider Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) has awarded the main civil works contract to construct the Baleh dam to a joint venture between China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd (CGGC) and local firm Untang Jaya Sdn Bhd.

The contract, to be inked later, will include designing and building the 1,285-megawatts dam in Belaga, its intake structures, spillway and penstocks.

The design work is expected to start in August this year, while construction is expected to begin in October 2018.

"The award of works is an important milestone for Baleh dam, one of Sarawak’s largest infrastructure projects, that will generate an additional 1,285 MW of renewable energy to the grid when it is fully commissioned in 2025,” SEB’s group chief executive officer Sharbini Suhaili said here.

According to Sharbini, the state government had endorsed the construction in March this year.

The Baleh dam will mark CGGC’s first foray into construction in Malaysia, he said.

"It is an established hydropower specialist with over 40 years of experience including the construction of at least eight rock filled dams and a further 18 concrete face rock filled dams, the highest being 233 metres,” he added.

The major shareholder of CGGC is the China Gezhouba Group Corporation, which is a core member of state-owned conglomerate China Energy Engineering Corporation.

Sharbini said the company’s main designer, Yellow River Engineering Consulting Ltd, is an established design consultant with a portfolio of more than 10 concrete face rockfill dams worldwide.

Meanwhile, Untang Jaya, which will own 30 per cent of the joint venture, is a Sarawak-registered Class A contractor from the Baleh/Kapit area with extensive background in construction, said Sharibini.

The 188-metre high Concrete Faced Rockfill Dam Baleh dam will be located on the Baleh River, about 95 km upstream from its confluence with the Rajang River in the Kapit Division.

Sharbini said the dam will not involve any community resettlement although some farmlands are affected.

When completed, Baleh dam will be the fourth dams under SEB’s stable after Batang Ai, Murum and Bakun dams.

The 2,400-MW dam was recently acquired from the federal government at the cost of RM2.5 billion.