For more than thirty years, there have been discussions concerning the building of the Bakun Dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. If built, it would be the largest dam in southeast Asia, and, at a cost of about $7 billion, the most expensive. Generating 2400 megawatts, it would provide electricity for both Sarawak, and for industries and cities in mainland Malaysia, through a cable under the South China Sea. At 650 kilometres, this would be by far the longest undersea cable in the world.

However, the Bakun Dam has had an uncertain, highly controversial history. After being indefinitely postponed in 1990, it was resurrected in 1993, only to be deferred again in late 1997, in the face of the Asian economic crisis. It has been the focus of intense controversy, both within Malaysia, and elsewhere. To Malaysian political and business leaders it was a promise of abundant electricity, and a lever by which Sarawak could be lifted out of its "backward" state. Environmentalists and local people, however, noted that the project would flood an area of tropical forest the size of Singapore, and force the resettlement of perhaps 10,000 people, in order to generate at high cost electricity for which no market might exist.

These contrasting perspectives on the Bakun Dam make it valuable as a case study of a dam as a form of development. Accordingly, much information about this dam: its history, politics, economics, and other aspects, is provided at this site.

[Button linking to this article -- Click here to read the article: "The Power
do you have the address?] Elite: The Politics and Ecology of Malaysia's Bakun Dam," Alternatives Journal, vol. 23(2), 1997: 14-19

Click on Map for a larger Map of Malaysia (165kb)

Map Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/middle_east_and_asia/Malaysia.jpg
(retrieved by IDSNet on 98/07/28)

The Bakun Dam was originally proposed in the early 1960s. Since then it has had a long and complex history. This history includes the following events:

• early 1960s: initial survey of the hydro potential of Sarawak
• late 1970s - early 1980s: detailed examination of the Bakun Site, and preparation of development proposals
• 1986: decision by national government to build the project
• 1990: postponement of project
• 1993: renewal of project
• 1994: awarding of project contract to Ekran Berhard
• 1996: construction begins
• 1997: economic crisis, and second postponement of project
• 2003: originally projected date of completion

Many of the issues pertaining to the Bakun project, such as concerns about economic viability, environmental concerns, and resettlement, parallel those encountered with dam projects elsewhere in the world. At the same time, several aspects of the project reflect circumstances particular to Malaysia. Four such aspects are especially significant: the regulatory context of the Bakun project; the relationship between Malaysian citizens and their governments; the place of Sarawak within the Malaysian national political and economic contexts; and the Bakun Dam and international aid.

The Bakun Dam has been the subject of debate for nearly two decades. During this time considerable documentation of this debate has accumulated, which can provide the basis for a better understanding of how a project of this kind, and development issues generally, are presented and debated in public. These materials can also provide a basis for discussing the role of the media in debates about such projects, and about development.