Bakun Dam cost over-run hits RM1.7b

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Sime Darby is reported to have incurred an estimated cost over-run of RM1.7 billion on a Bakun Dam contract worth RM1.8 billion.

It is understood the government has agreed to reimburse Sime around RM0.7 billion, leaving the firm to absorb the remaining RM1 billion, The Star reported.

But who actually owns Sime Engineering, which reportedly was awarded the RM1.8 billion contract? The firm is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Sime Darby Bhd, according to the group’s 2009 Annual Report.  Sime Darby Bhd in turn is owned by Amanah Saham Bumiputera Scheme (39 per cent), EPF (14 per cent) and PNB (13 per cent).

That means the government will have to absorb RM0.7 billion and the Sime Darby GLC the remainder. And who benefits? Energy-intensive private firms will enjoy cheap electricity tariffs generated by the dam – if (and that is a big IF) the jinxed dam is functional. Socialising costs/losses and privatising profits.

As the Bakun Dam bleeds red ink, the displaced and marginalised Penan, who lost their ancestral burial grounds to the dam, could well have the last laugh – though one suspects there could be a few more ‘last laughs’ in store.

The government has to give us a breakdown of the total cost incurred on the Bakun Dam, indicating how much of it is incurred by the private sector, by GLCs and by the government itself. The resettlement and other associated costs of the dam should also be included.

Update: Sime Darby has now announced it will be conducting an investigation.

Sime Darby addressing challenges in its energy and utilities Division

KUALA LUMPUR, 6 May 2010 – With reference to recent media reports about Sime Darby’s Energy & Utilities Division, including projects in Qatar and Bakun, the Group would like to confirm that a Taskforce is investigating all aspects of this Division’s business operations in an effort to address the tough and challenging situation it is currently facing. The Taskforce has yet to complete its investigations, and once completed, the Group will make all relevant disclosures during its 3rd Quarterly Results announcement on 27 May 2010.

The Sime Darby Management is aware of the difficulties and challenges besetting its Energy & Utilities Division, especially with regards to operational efficiency and project management, and has instituted a new management team at the Division.

The Group is currently addressing the situation by implementing appropriate measures.

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YKH
YKH
28 May 2010 8.29pm

iT’S REALLY DISGUSTING TO SEE ALL THIS HAPPENING.PKFZ case,submarine fat commission case,over price of govnt.procurements,toyo mansion,Zakaria palace,and now Bakun.and now they ask us to share the burden of not going bankrupt,gst implementation.
Curb corroption first!!then talk.

timeforchange
timeforchange
28 May 2010 1.12pm

Mahatir is the root and father to all evil plagueing and destroying this country. The monsters he raised up and followed him are continuing his pattern.

To add on the above, the IC project for illegals…

Anonymous
Anonymous
25 May 2010 11.37am

HOW COULD AND DID THE COSTS EVER OVERRUN WHEN THEY HAVE EXPERTISES IN PROJECT COST ESTIMATIONS AND COSTS CONTROLS DURING THE PROJECT’S IMPLEMENTATIONS BECAUSE THE PROJECT WERE PRE-SUBCONTRACTED TO SUB-CONTRACTORS WHOSE PRICES WERE FIXED FOR THEIR GIVEN TASKS IN THE PROJECTS AND ALL WERE ADDED UP BEFORE PROJECT’S IMPLEMENTATIONS? UNLESS AGAIN, THERE WERE CORRUPT PRACTICES BY AN UNSEEN HAND OF POWER THERE DID NOT & COULD NOT BE ANY SUCH BIZARRE POSSIBILITIES OF ANY COSTS OVERRUN IN SUCH PROJECTS IF IT WERE STRICTLY COSTS CONTROLLED RIGHT FROM THE START OK? MALAYSIANS ARE SUFFERING THE OPPRESSIVE RULE BY THE ROUGES OF… Read more »

logical
logical
17 May 2010 2.48pm

Gerakan K ,

You are almost certainly a Gerakan member.May I inquire of you whether when UMNO says “Sit!” then Gerakan will
have to … immediately obey the order.

logical
logical
17 May 2010 2.41pm

All these go to show that after (the locals took over) Sime Darby was in the hands of incompetent people.This can be seen from the fact its profits are about the same as those of the year 1976 or thereabouts after taking inflation into consideration.

kannah
kannah
9 May 2010 4.34pm

how can that dam will work ….

we all know from day one the biggest dam builder got the project and ekran willthe main con they just drop the project …

King Solomon
King Solomon
8 May 2010 6.38pm

(Some of the) East Malaysians will never wake or they are just plain stupid. That is why the white haired freak is in total control of the vast resources and his (wealth). The Bakun Dam …

(These) East Malaysians will still live in the jungles and longhouses, being victims of their own folly.

Wake up before you realize that you may not even have a shelter to call your own home!

kkdee
kkdee
7 May 2010 2.21pm

… greedy… cronies still trying to milk the poor rakyat money till today.
Look at this dam project, the cost oveerun is more the the cost of the project. The poor Penans have suffered enough from these greedy…
This is Bolehland.
East Malaysians wake up, and throw these West Malaysians politicians and their greedy… cronies by voting for PKR this coming election in Sibu.
Wake up NOW!!

O
O
7 May 2010 3.19am

(Author requested not to publish)

Arr
Arr
6 May 2010 11.48pm

Just look and see. And then just keep yous mouth shut. Thats all they want.

Bravo12
Bravo12
6 May 2010 9.39pm

Giving the real meaning to >> RM grows on trees by the Billions ! <<

LBJ
LBJ
6 May 2010 9.27pm

Something do not adds up. It is not possible for engineers to plan a project and have it overrun by almost 100%. This is not the first time a damn is built. How can there can so much variation. If a project has so much uncertainties, then risk mitigation measures must be taken. And it is foolish to take such a project on fixed price.

There must be more than meet the eye.

Gamma Ray
Gamma Ray
6 May 2010 7.49pm

And now they want to build a nuclear power plant in Malaysia. I have a stange feeling this Bakun Dam will be abandoned because it cannot be operated. The curse of the PENANS have finally worked. If the DAM operates, we dont need this nuclear plant. I also suspect they have run into somekinf of trouble with the submarine cable linking east and west malaysia. To cover up the entir mess, they are are proposing nuclear plant. What a ****** mess

tunglang
tunglang
6 May 2010 7.15pm

Just imagine:
use the RM1.8 billion for alternative energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, tidal energy, etc, all of which are much more environment-friendly. And maybe we can have some change left for other useful purposes.
Why do we always have to do super mega projects ala Mahathir-style?
Learn from Penang Gov!

Gerakan K
Gerakan K
6 May 2010 7.13pm

If we look at the shareholders, mostly consist of GLC/local institution like PNB and EPF. So any profit will be returned to the people. What is the problem ???

Better ask LGE to explain the dramatically drop of FDI in Penang as claimed by Gerakan.

Show us the CAT !!! Publish the official figure of FDI !!!

p/s: By the way, where is local election as promised by the state government few months ago ???

O
O
7 May 2010 4.00pm
Reply to  Gerakan K

Gerakan K, Sorry to tell you that Gerakan today is so irrelevant and weak. Its politicians are just out to get whatever publicity they can get, and most of the time their accusations are rebutted with solid proof. At this point of time, I must say, PR is doing extremely well in governing compared to what BN has to offer previously. With regards to FDI, didn’t your idol MM said that we do not need to depend on FDIs? You sudah lupa ke? We can build our own economy he said. What is the average FDI per annum during the… Read more »

Gerakan K
Gerakan K
8 May 2010 8.50pm
Reply to  O

PR = one time wonder (FDIs during 08/09)

Anyway, FDIs in 08/09 partly contributed by Gerakan State Government’s previous effort.

Please ask LGE to give up the MP or CM. He can’t perform well on both posts.

O
O
9 May 2010 1.15am
Reply to  Gerakan K

Gerakan K.

To be honest, I expected you to say that Gerakan contributed to 08/09 FDI. Whatever, it was invested in Penang because the investors thought fit to do so, and have the confidence to do so.

I think LGE will give up his Bagan seat come the next GE.

O
O
7 May 2010 4.18pm
Reply to  Gerakan K

Gerakan K,

The cost over run by all those GLCs ends up with situation like this.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-07/malaysia-planning-global-dollar-bond-offering-official-says.html

How do you fancy this? And a big man like you should be picking up national issues not issues of your food going up by .20 or.30 because of affirmative measures by the Government to tackle issues that are wrecking our environments.

I expect better inputs from a man like you, not throwing tantrums because you cannot get your ikan bakar, like Iron. You do not believe? You “Check it Out” in Parliament.

Cheers bro.

Gerakan K
Gerakan K
8 May 2010 9.13pm
Reply to  O

Another HS by-election sore loser attitude. Let’s see if 20/30 cents thing has impact or not during next GE. Don’t boast too much in this blog. You only expose your issues to relevant parties. GE12 was a surprise to BN. BN has learned a lot behind the scene and something crucial have been setup and running well. It is expected that there is no opposition state government in next GE. Yes, Kelantan and Penang included. Record my comment now and put it in your safe. Open it in 2012 to prove my word. If possible, keep your daily newspapers until… Read more »

O
O
9 May 2010 2.21am
Reply to  Gerakan K

Gerakan K, Come on bro, I never am a sore loser, while I worked hard in HS, I was never sore that PR lost. I even predicted that PR will lose on election eve because of the swing in votes when your PM campaigned. Read my previous comments, please. We win some, we lose some. I am not boasting bro, come on. Well honestly, UMNO Baru, Perkasa and TDM had insulted the non Malays too much, so it is sort of difficult for BN to win back Penang, Selangor, Kelantan and possibly will lose Perak and Negri Sembilan. How the… Read more »

Gerakan K
Gerakan K
9 May 2010 8.26pm
Reply to  O

OK, I have already revealed too much. I have to stop now before someone stop me. Anyway more voters may mean more votes for BN or PR. Who knows ???

O, you have the standard thinking logic of PR supporters. Sometimes I really wonder that whether PR has any strategic planner that devise election strategies.

Anyway, let’s see the Chinese voters’ reaction in Sibu after so many issues as claimed by you. Also, the Indian voters in Selangor already returned to BN (according to the Hulu Selangor by-election analysis).

Finally, Happy Mother’s day to all !!!

O
O
7 May 2010 5.14pm
Reply to  Gerakan K

Gerakan K,

Put your money in my pocket or transfer it to my bank account, what is the problem? I will spend it and anyway, the monies will still be in the financial system in Malaysia.

What is the problem?

Cheers bro

SG Lim
SG Lim
6 May 2010 5.57pm

The Government should get this up and going, do all the final costs and benefits before even talking about having a nuclear power plant!!

wira
wira
6 May 2010 5.34pm

ASB and PNB probably still own 50% of Sime Darby.
If SD were to absorb that RM1 billion loss, it means the net worth of PNB/ASM will be down by RM500million.

This is a small dent to the funds which earn 10 times that amount in a single year.

ASB will still be able to pay at least 8% dividend, just like before and continue to out-perform the best fund managers and financial brains on earth… George Sorros and Warren Buffet included. 🙂

Leong Yook Kong
Leong Yook Kong
6 May 2010 4.28pm

Brother, we have to “tutup mata”. It all boils down to the inefficiency, imcompetence, so on and so on in allow the cost over-run. We are already immunised. If we apply pressure for an answer, the government will use the provision from the legislative framework “obligations for secrecy” to drag on until we are frustrated with the delay.

Bigjoe
Bigjoe
6 May 2010 4.20pm

When will people learn that Mahathir cost this nation so much more than he contributed – the cost of his follies just keep going on and on…

Iron
Iron
6 May 2010 5.20pm
Reply to  Bigjoe

Dear Joe Busak,

When you mentioned “Mahathir’s contribution” I couldn’t help but think of the following –

Mahathir’s (legacy) to this nation:

* Bigotry
* Hatreds
* Institutionalized Discrimination
* Inefficiency
* Rampant corruption (in the administration)
* Operation Lallang
* Continuous threats of May 13
* Bankrupting the nation’s coffer

… is there anything I forgot to add ?

Sri
Sri
23 May 2010 1.18pm
Reply to  Iron

u forgot “sodomy”…..LoL