Kota Kinabalu: Power supply in Sabah will get a further boost with a 300-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant becoming fully operational in 2014 in Kimanis, Papar.
The RM1.5 billion plant owned by Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd (KPSB) is a 60:40 joint-venture initiative between Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB) and a business arm of Yayasan Sabah Group, NRG Consortium (Sabah) Sdn Bhd.
The plant consists of three generating blocks and each block will generate 100MW and consist of Gas Turbine Generator (GTG), Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and Steam Turbine Generator (STG).
State Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan said the plant will be tapped to the State's power grid to supply electricity from the West Coast to the East, which is in need of power to meet its increasing demand for domestic and industrial use.
"The gas-fuelled power plant in Kimanis, about 65km from here, is going to facilitate us and to make sure Sabah energy plants have sufficient electricity available not only for the short-term but also long-term.
"To meet future demands for power supply, the plant has allocated a space at the current site to build required equipment and infrastructures for another 100MW supply.
"Meaning to say, supply can be maximised to 400MW when needed and there is another 100 MW gas-fired power plant by SPR Energy in Kimanis, which would provide up to a total of 500MW of electricity," he said.
Tan said this to reporters after the signing of an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for the combined cycle gas power plant between KPSB and a consortium, Taiwan-based CTCI Corporation, Synerlitz Sdn Bhd and a subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings Berhad, SCHB Engineering Services, at a hotel here on Monday.
He was representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman to witness the signing of the contract and exchange of documents between KPSB managing director M Ali Hashim and CTCI Corporation Chairman cum CEO John T. Yu.
Under the contract, the consortium will develop, construct and commission the gas-fired power plant and its related facilities and infrastructures.
M Ali said the project is expected to benefit the State not only by supplying a clean source of energy to meet increasing demand for electricity but will also provide development opportunities for Sabah and the surrounding community.
He said the package includes construction of the project within 32 months from Apr 1 this year until the first commercial operation date for the first generating block on Dec 1, 2013.
Meanwhile, Yu said the completion dates of each three generating block are scheduled for Dec 1, 2013 followed by the second block on Feb 1, 2014 and finally the last block on Apr 1, 2014.
Upon completion, he said, the Kimanis Power Plant will be the biggest IPP plant Sabah and will be undertaking a great responsibility in supplying reliable and clean electricity to Sabahans.
Tan said the Kimanis Power Plant project is one of the major spin-offs from the proposed Sabah Onshore Gas Terminal (SOGT) project, which is also located in Kimanis and being implemented by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.
He said the power plant will use a clean source of natural gas produced offshore Sabah, which will be landed at and supplied by the SOGT.
Besides helping State to boost electricity supply, Tan said the plant would also provide more jobs for local Sabahans.
"Petronas has also built a centre in Kimanis to train our local youths for jobs in SOGT and the first batch involving 25 Sabah youths would begin their classes in a rented shoplot in Membakut this July.
"Our concern has been taken into account whereby Sabahans are given priority to acquire technical skills that will enable them to work in the Kimanis power plant and SOGT," he said.
On the latest development to bringing oil and gas downstream activities to Sipitang, Tan said they are working out with Petronas the right location and constructing the required infrastructure for the activities.
"The latest that we get from Petronas is that we have been working with a technical team quite consistently now in order to determine what is the suitable location to build the required infrastructure.
"In some ways, we have agreed to do a take-off and diversion to Sipitang from Kimanis provided there are takers for gas in Sipitang when this district is designated for downstream of oil and gas activities," he said.
