Early bidding necessary for Tanjung Bin Plant: Energy Commission

Malaysia's Energy Commission clarified that the bidding process for the Tanjung Bin Power Station project was conducted five years before it begins operations in 2016 because of the lengthy construction period.

It explained that construction of such a large-scale power plant will require at least five years on a brownfield site.
The project in Johor, which is to develop and operate the 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant, was awarded to Transpool Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Malakoff Corporation Bhd, via a competitive restricted bidding process conducted by the Commission from Nov 15, 2010 to April 15, 2011.

The project is needed to meet the projected demand in 2016 following the cancellation of the proposed submarine cable from th Bakun Hydroelectric Project.

"Greenfield development will require a longer period to undertake the Full Environmental Impact Assessment, detailed site identification and assessment, including public consultation, site preparation, reclamation and soil investigation and construction of new transmission and interconnection facilities, coal handling and other common facilities.

"Based on the projected economic growth, failure to award such a project on time to achieve commercial operation in early 2016 will result in potential brownouts in the country," the commission said in a statement today.
It was responding to a recent statement by Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

The Energy Commission said the brownfield site option was chosen for the bidding process.

The full story is available at Bernama News.