Proposal to build Sandakan power plant to be brought to Cabinet soon

The proposal to build a combined 300-megawatt cycle power plant in Sandakan, Sabah will be brought to the Cabinet for approval soon.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili said previously, the approval process was delayed, following several legal processes which had to be resolved between the federal and state governments.

"As such, there is no question of the federal government purposely delaying the application and it is not fair that it is blamed whereas the application was at the discussion stage," he said in his winding-up speech for the royal address for his ministry at the Dewan Rakyat sitting Tuesday.

Last December, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman was reported to have said the power plant would be built to resolve the problem of acute disruptions in electricity supply faced by people in the state's east coast.

Meanwhile, Ongkili said the project was expected to be implemented using the modular approach with the first 95MW scheduled to supply electricity during the third quarter of 2018 before its full completion in 2021. -- Bernama