KUCHING: Sarawak will begin constructing cascading dams to produce electricity, four of which would be completed by 2030.
Sarawak Energy and Environment Sustainability Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni said the four are out of 12 cascading dams planned for construction in the interior districts of Baram and Belaga.
“We (state government) have already identified 12 rivers that have the potential to generate a large amount of electricity via cascading dams.
“We will start the first phase of construction and it will involve building four dams from now until 2030.
“By 2030, the dams would produce another two gigawatts of electricity for Sarawak, which we would use to power development projects,” he said during a talk in Kuching on the new plans for electricity projects in Sarawak.
Hazland said the rest of the dams would be built in later phases after 2030.
He also said the state aims to build two power plants in the Bintulu and Miri districts that would use a combination of liquified natural gas and hydrogen to produce electricity.
“These two power plants could each produce 1.5 gigawatts of electricity.”
He added that with the new dams, plus existing dams in Bakun, Baleh, Murum and Batang Ai, the state could generate beyond 10 gigawatts by 2030 for domestic use and export to regional countries.
Earlier this year, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg said the first cascading dam would be built across Sungai Gaat in the Kapit district in central Sarawak.
He said the residents there had given their consent to the construction.
Johari also said the dam would be based on a multi-layer design in which turbines could be built.
He added that there are many rivers in the interior regions that would be good sites for dam construction.
“The dams also encourage fish species to grow and control the movement of crocodiles.”