KUCHING, Oct 31: The federal government has given the green light to hold discussions with the Singapore government regarding the development of an undersea electric cable project connecting Tondong, Sarawak to Singapore.
Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the implementation of the project has been decided in principle, Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas) reported.
According to Ukas, the Premier noted that the undersea electric cable that passes through Indonesia will allow Sarawak to export up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
“I am happy to state here that the project for us to supply electricity to Singapore up to 1,000 MW can now be studied, especially for us to create a submarine electric cable project from Tondong in Sarawak to Singapore.
“So we have received a decision where the Federal government has given the ‘green light’ for us to discuss the implementation of the project and in principle it has been decided,” said Abang Johari, as quoted by Ukas, during a press conference held today following a bilateral meeting with the president of the International Hydropower Association (IHA), Malcolm Turnbull, in conjunction with the 2023 World Hydropower Congress at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre in Bali.
Also present were Utility and Telecommunication (MUT) Sarawak Minister Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain, and Sarawak Energy Berhad (Sarawak Energy) group chief executive officer (CEO) Datu Sharbini Suhaili.
Speaking about his meeting with Malcolm Turnbull, the Premier stated that he had shared about the advantages of the State which has large renewable energy resources, especially in the generation of electricity, the news outlet reported.
Abang Johari explained that electricity generation through the construction of hydroelectric dams can be implemented sustainably because Sarawak has many rivers and a high amount of rainfall.
According to him, rivers can be studied as an alternative to reservoir sources for hydropower generation.
“Actually, SEB (Sarawak Energy) already has a project in Lawas that uses the same system to produce (energy) hydro, but we want to increase it so that our hydro production has the potential according to the previous Snowy Mountains study report where the production potential is approximately 20,000 MW which we just produced approximately 7,000 MW.
“So I have asked SEB to review it, because maybe at that time the input had not been updated yet. So at the moment, we are aiming to generate 20,000 MW first by using the available methods,” he added. — DayakDaily
