NEWS & UPDATES

Kuching, 28 August 2013: Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) announced its intention to award six contract packages worth a total of RM1.2 billion for the 500kV Transmission Backbone project today. The contract packages have been awarded to a combination of qualified international and local contractors with strong balance-sheet and relevant expertise following a stringent tender process.

The award of the six packages are in line with the key objective of the procurement process which is to achieve the best possible value for the State and maximize the participation of Sarawakian and Malaysian businesses. 

Based on the information submitted by the successful bidders, SEB is pleased to note more than 60 local companies, employing an estimated 30,000 local workers will be involved in the awarded contracts. The local participation across the six packages is well above 50%.

Scope and Purpose of the Project

The 500kV Transmission Backbone project will support the future development of SEB’s Generating System and provide a strong security of supply to the fast-expanding SCORE customers. The solid performance of the Sarawak economy has also led to rapid growth in electricity demand and consumption in the State.  In turn, more transmission capacity is required to strengthen the current electricity supply into Kuching and southwestern Sarawak.

The 500kV Project will provide a strong high voltage transmission Backbone, extending over 500 kilometers from Similajau in Bintulu to Tondong in Kuching.

Work on the Project is expected to commence in October 2013 and is scheduled for completion in stages from December 2015 to June 2016.

Successful Bidders

For each project package, the contracts are awarded to the lowest compliant bidder as follows:

 

Contract Package	Successful Bidder
Similajau to Mapai 500kV Transmission Line	Toshiba Transmission & Distribution System Asia Sdn. Bhd. JV Xian Electric Engineering Company Ltd
Mapai to Lachau 500kV Transmission Line	Sinohydro Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. JV Trenergy Infrastructure Sdn. Bhd
Lachau to Tondong 500kV Transmission Line	Sinohydro Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. JV Trenergy Infrastructure Sdn. Bhd.
Mapai to Oya 275kV Transmission Line	Toshiba Transmission & Distribution System Asia Sdn. Bhd. JV Xian Electric Engineering Company Ltd
Mambong & Entinggan 275kV Substation Extension	KEC International Limited
Mapai 275/33kV Substation Project	Pestech Sdn Bhd

Sarawak Energy Berhad’s Chief Executive Officer, Torstein Dale Sjotveit congratulates the companies on their success.

"The SEB Board decided that these companies had the best evaluated tenders. The successful bidders have demonstrated their capabilities and experience and will ensure that Sarawak Energy gets the best quality at the best price. Our project execution and procurement team has been very diligent in carrying out a competitive and stringent tender process in accordance with industry best practices to ensure that we secure the best possible value for the State,” said Torstein. 

“We are also particularly happy with the substantial local content in these packages, as SEB is determined to maximize the participation of qualified and able Sarawakian and Malaysian businesses in our tenders, consistent with the State Government’s objective to support the development and capability of local industries.”

“The massive scale of the Project means that it is not prudent to award this as one large contract to a single bidder.  Instead, we intend to mitigate the risk in project execution by engaging multiple contractors, so that we have several big firms working at the same time, to complete the Project as soon as possible.”

All of the successful bidders passed a comprehensive evaluation process designed to ensure that they possess the required high levels of competence, capability and capacity to work effectively in Sarawak.