Public fund used for geothermal power plant in Tawau: YB
Published on: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Tawau: An opposition assemblyman claimed Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Ongkili had misled the public when he said the geothermal power plant development will be at zero-cost to the government.Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Chan Foong Hin said the plant, which is developed by Tawau Green Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE), has been awarded a RM35 million grant from the Federal Government."This means that there was public fund used in this project," he said in a statement.
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He said according to TGE's website, on May 27, 2012, the company has issued a press statement to tell the public that, they have signed Facilitation Fund Agreement between the company and Public Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister's Department, with Bank Pembangunan Malaysia entrusted with disbursing the grant. The RM35 million grant provided by the Federal Government to TGE under this agreement is meant to help fund construction costs of the project's preliminary infrastructure."Isn't RM35 million in Federal grant an allocation by our BN government? The RM35 million-valued access road to the TGE site is seen to be in a poor condition now, after the project was abandoned since early this year."Did we pay RM35 million for nothing? Thanks to the Economic Transformation Programme started by the current administration, a private sector project doesn't necessarily bring zero-cost to the government.
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Are you unaware of the Federal grant?" he said.On Friday, Ongkili was quoted to have said that the geothermal plant which is set to come on stream by 2019 in Tawau is a private sector project which will keep zero-cost to the government and that the opposition should stop questioning the project and its cost.
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He said the opposition should not bother about the delayed project and how much it would cost the government."The developer has already signed the Power Purchase Agreement with Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and if the project were delayed or behind schedule, it is their (developer) loss," he said.In Chan's opinion, the people have every right to show their concerns with the green energy development, which is under the purview of Ongkili's ministry. "Firstly, it is located in Tawau, adjacent to my constituency. We welcome 30MW power taped into the SESB but reject any white elephant project. "Secondly, the site is located in Andrassy, which was formerly a first class virgin forest and a pristine water catchment area. We have sacrificed our natural heritage in exchange for the first geothermal power plant project in the country. Don't tell us our logs fell apart for nothing.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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