" Sabah State EPU CONFIRMED : COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT IN SEGUNTOR !!! "
The State Government has proposed that Sabah-owned companies hold a 35 per cent stake in the development of the coal-fired power plant to be built by Lahad Datu Energy (LDE) Sdn Bhd in Sandakan.
The proposed was made by the State Economic Planning Unit (EPU) after Sungai Seguntor, Sandakan was named as an alternative site for the 300MW coal-fired power plant that was earlier planned for Silam in Lahad Datu.
The media was briefed by LDE Sdn Bhd during a luncheon at Pacific Sutera, Tuesday, that the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the project on a reclaimed land within the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sandakan area is expected to be completed by end of this year.
The TOR studies were being done by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia (UKM), said LDE Sdn Bhd Senior Manager, Abu Bakar Ahmad.
The TOR would be advertised in the newspapers to provide information to the public and gather feedback, while the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is expected to begin in February.
Another round of public feedback gathering would be conducted before the EIA report is completed probably by July or August, he said.
He said LDE is committed to an environmental management programme, which would be closely monitored by the Department of Environment in order to safeguard the natural habitat and its surroundings.
“The proposed site is already gazetted as an industrial area. In terms of business and employment opportunities, more than RM300 million worth of contract will be sub-contracted to local companies while thousands of skilled or unskilled jobs will be created, either directly or indirectly, “ he said.
An estimated 3,000 workers would be required during its construction and when operational, the plant would provide around 200 permanent jobs to Sabahans, he said.
According to him, the power plant would be connected to the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) Grid through a new 275kV transmission line that would be constructed a part of the project.
Abu Bakar said prolonged delay in the commissioning of the proposed coal-fired power plant in Sabah’s east coast would expose the area to more frequent blackouts because SESB would have to still rely on unreliable ageing diesel plants and importation of power from West Coast to meet the demand.
Presently, about 30 per cent of East Coast demand is supported daily by West Coast generators and such lopsided grid would expose the East Coast to the risk of a serious major blackout in the event of an interconnection failure.
Fielding question from the media, LDE top guns said that even though the contract with a China company to supply and build the coal-fired power plant in Silam, Lahad Datu had been signed it has now been temporarily suspended due to the change of site.
Among the senior LDE officials on hand were Project Director Ahmad Faraid and Commercial Manager, Hasniza Hassan.
They also assured that every precaution would be taken to ensure the environment and wildlife in the surrounding areas would not be in jeopardy once the plant is operational.
In West Malaysia and Sarawak, there are already six coal-fired power plants strictly adhering to the DOE’s rules and regulations, successfully generating electricity without and adverse impact to the environment, they said.
When asked on doubts that the plant would not affect the environment due to its location as “a bay within a bay” and the fact that it is only a “stone’s throw away” from the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Abu Bakar said feasibility studies were being done specifically on the water circulation.
As for the wildlife, he pointed out that the Tenaga Nasional Berhad coal-fired power plant in Kapar had even attracted migratory shorebirds that fly over 24,000km to escape the northern winter at the ash lagoon of the plant to rest, roost and feed.
To another point that it was unnecessary for the plant to be built in the East Coast as electricity could be supplied through transmission lines from power plants in Kimanis and Ulu Padas, Abu Bakar said:
“Supplying electricity through long transmission lines would result in los of efficiency and is unstable”. Also on hand were Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Rahman Ghani.
Daily Express 24th Dec 2008
ALL SANDAKANIANS, BROTHERS & SISTERS, FRIENDS, TOURISTS, WE MUST STAY UNITED AND ACT WITH SINCERITY AND PEOPLE POWER WE CAN TURN NEGATIVE INTO POSITIVE !
WE WANT CLEAN ENERGY AND NO COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT !!!
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