The Bakun Dam is expected to produce electricity in July 2011.

The Bakun hydroelectric dam is expected to commercially produce 300MW of electricity in July.

Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd managing director Zulkifle Osman said impoundment started on Oct 13 last year and the reservoir’s water level was now at 184.6m.

He said flooding was needed to reach the minimum operation level of 195m to conduct reliability run, which would take at least a month.

“We are getting good rainfall from upstream for the past weeks.

“Based on our calculation, if the rainfall continues, the reservoir’s water level may reach 195m by end of April or early May,” he said yesterday.

The area to be flooded covers 690sqkm, equal to the size of Singapore.

Before impoundment

After Impoundment Oct 13 ,2010.

Sarawak Hidro, a wholly-owned unit of the Ministry of Finance Inc, is the developer of the dam, which can generate 2,400MW of electricity. It is the world’s second tallest concrete rock-filled dam and is located on the Balui River in the upper Rejang River basin(LINK ..Last post), 37km upstream from Belaga.

Power from the dam will be supplied to energy-intensive industries such as aluminium and manganese smelting plants to be set up in the Samalaju Industrial Park in Bintulu within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

The Bakun dam costs over RM7bil to build. — Bernama