Malaysia's Synergy Drive to buy 60% of Bakun dam operator
The Malaysian government has allowed plantations-to-power group Synergy Drive to acquire 60 percent of the operator of the controversial Bakun hydro-electric dam, conglomerate Sime Darby said.
By Agencies |
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has allowed plantations-to-power group Synergy Drive to acquire 60 percent of the operator of the controversial Bakun hydro-electric dam, conglomerate Sime Darby said. Synergy Drive is the vehicle merging state-linked firms Sime Darby, Golden Hope Plantations and Kumpulan Guthrie and their subsidiaries in an 11 billion dollar deal that will also create the world's largest listed palm oil firm.
"Synergy Drive has received a letter of intention from the government approving in principle the acquisition of a 60 percent equity interest in Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd by Synergy Drive," Sime Darby said in a statement late Friday. The approval is considered a major boost for Synergy Drive ahead of its stock market debut on November 30.
It has five core operations: plantations, property, heavy equipment, motor and utilities. Synergy Drive will begin discussions with the government on the terms of the acquisition of the stake in Sarawak Hidro, said Sime Darby. Sarawak Hidro was set up by the finance ministry to take over the Bakun dam project after it was temporarily shelved in 1997.
Conglomerate Sime Darby is leading a consortium in the construction of the six billion ringgit (1.8 billion dollars) Bakun dam project in the eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island. The 2,400 megawatt dam was approved in 1993 and is expected to be completed in 2010.
Ahmad Zubir Murshid, Synergy Drive chief executive officer said the group hopes to bring the power to the Peninsular Malaysia via undersea cables. The government has proposed a 700-kilometre (435 miles) undersea cable link to transmit power generated by the Bakun dam to southern Johor state on the mainland.
The dam, which involves flooding an area the size of Singapore, has attracted fierce criticism because of its harmful impact on the environment. Some 10,000 residents have had to evacuate the project site. Environmentalists have also said the undersea cable would be unsafe because it lies across an earthquake-prone region.
"Synergy Drive has received a letter of intention from the government approving in principle the acquisition of a 60 percent equity interest in Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd by Synergy Drive," Sime Darby said in a statement late Friday. The approval is considered a major boost for Synergy Drive ahead of its stock market debut on November 30.
It has five core operations: plantations, property, heavy equipment, motor and utilities. Synergy Drive will begin discussions with the government on the terms of the acquisition of the stake in Sarawak Hidro, said Sime Darby. Sarawak Hidro was set up by the finance ministry to take over the Bakun dam project after it was temporarily shelved in 1997.
Conglomerate Sime Darby is leading a consortium in the construction of the six billion ringgit (1.8 billion dollars) Bakun dam project in the eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island. The 2,400 megawatt dam was approved in 1993 and is expected to be completed in 2010.
Ahmad Zubir Murshid, Synergy Drive chief executive officer said the group hopes to bring the power to the Peninsular Malaysia via undersea cables. The government has proposed a 700-kilometre (435 miles) undersea cable link to transmit power generated by the Bakun dam to southern Johor state on the mainland.
The dam, which involves flooding an area the size of Singapore, has attracted fierce criticism because of its harmful impact on the environment. Some 10,000 residents have had to evacuate the project site. Environmentalists have also said the undersea cable would be unsafe because it lies across an earthquake-prone region.
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