Deputy Chief Minister James Masing urged Baram residents not to be selfish as the stalled Baram HEP would bring far-reaching benefits to the entire state and its people.
“So the people of Baram must make up their minds. What do they want? Do they want the dam to be built so that the Baram people can benefit from it as well as the rest of Sarawak?” he said in a report carried by local daily The Borneo Post today.
Masing, who is also Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation, pointed out that socio-economic factors were the critical driver for financiers, including the government, developers or investors, to start any mega project that could be the solution to many diverse problems.
“That’s why I am committed to make sure that the Baleh HEP dam is built, otherwise there will be no road,” he told reporters after the presentation of minor rural project grants at his office in Kuching yesterday.
Locals in Baram in northern Sarawak have blocked the access road to the proposed dam site on the upper reaches of the Baram River for years, forcing former chief minister, the late Adenan Satem, to suspend the project early last year.
The 1,200 megawatt Baram dam was supposed to form part of an ambitious plan to build 12 mega dams, including the Baleh dam in Masing’s constituency, in the state by 2030 to attract more energy-intensive industries.
However, it met opposition because the dam’s reservoir would displace about 20,000 people and submerge their ancestral land.
“I hope they (Baram people) still continue to request (for road connectivity). It is unfortunate there was a group of people stopping the construction of the Baram HEP because the dam will be the game changer for the local community,” Masing said.
The mega project, he reiterated, was key to attract and influence investors and the government to build the road.
“You must understand the complexity and difficulty to just build expensive roads to cater for a few longhouses only. You have to look at the beneficiaries,” he said.
Masing revealed that the RM700 million allocated for the Long Lama-Ulu Baram road project would be transferred to finance other projects.
He said two official letters requesting the transfer of the allocation had been submitted to the federal government and were pending approval.
The first letter, dated July 4, 2016, was written by Adenan and the second by Masing dated May 11 this year.
Both letters were to seek approval to use the approved 10th Malaysia Plan allocation, earmarked for the construction of the access road to Baram HEP, to build the access road to Tunoh near the Baleh HEP in Bukit Mabong district, Kapit division.
In his letter, Masing said the overall access road to Baram dam was 126.8km and the project was divided into Package A (66.8km) and Package B (60km).
Package A was completed in 2014 while Package B, estimated to cost RM690 million, was discontinued as there was a moratorium on the construction of the Baram dam.
Tunoh, Masing said, was planned as one of the growth nodes in the hinterland of Kapit.
“There is a plan to turn this area into an agricultural hub producing vegetables, fruits and exotic flowers to supply to Sarawak’s population and beyond.
“However, at this point of time, it is only accessible from Kapit by timber lorry roads which are dangerous and winding.
“Therefore, to ensure good connectivity, a 37km long road is urgently needed to realise the state government’s vision to turn the Tunoh Resettlement Scheme into a robust agricultural hub in the hinterland.”
The Baleh dam, he said, would be the game changer for the people of Baleh.
“The dam will provide electricity to industries and ordinary households. More importantly, not only Baleh people will benefit but all the people of Sarawak,” he said.
Masing was glad that the people of Baleh listened to the government and supported the construction of the dam.
“Even though one or two people may object, we can settle the minor irritation. What’s important is that the dam must go ahead,” he added.
He said the 1,295 megawatt Baleh HEP dam was under construction and the road connecting Kapit all the way to Ulu Baleh was expected to be ready in three years’ time.