Sarawaks Bario mini-hydro dam project did not have enough water to power its turbines due to the effects of drastic weather changes such as El Nino, the Ministry of Rural Development said today.

In reply to a question on the matter raised by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Keadilan-Permatang Pauh), the ministry said it was in the process of awarding a one-year contract to a private company to find ways to revive the dam.

At the same time, Tenaga Nasional Berhad Hidro will study and advise the ministry whether the Mikro Hidro [the official name of the project] is operational, said the ministry.

Wan Azizah had wanted to find out the factors which caused the Bario mini-hydro to last for only one day after it was put into operation.

She also asked if the government had made a complete study before embarking on the project.

The ministry said that the viability of the project has been studied by consultants and approved by a steering committee comprising of federal and state agencies such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Electricity Supply Board, Sabah Electricity Board and Sarawak Electricity Supply Board.

The project was chosen because Bario is located in the far interiors and can only be reached by air from Miri, said the ministry.

The consultants report at that time confirmed that there was enough water for the proposed system, the ministry added.

In February this year, it was revealed that the Bario dam, approved and financed by the federal Rural Development Ministry, had only operated for a day due to not having enough water to work the turbines.

Second dam failure

Recently, malaysiakini reported that a second mini-hydro dam, built at a cost of more then RM10 million in Telok Melano, about 100km from Kuching, has suffered a similar fate as the failed Bario dam.

According to government officials who visited the site, the project consultants had failed to take into account or to recognise the effects of dry spells on the rivers and streams in and around the area where the dam is built.

The dam, approved by the then minister Annuar Musa, and awarded to and completed by a Kuching-based bumiputra company about three years ago, is believed to be unable to hold enough water at its reservoir.

According to Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie, the Bario dam project should not have been approved initially as it constituted a big wastage of funds.

Malaysiakini learnt that since Moggie brought the matter to light during a visit to Bario when launching a community Internet project, government officials have been to the site to see how the dam project can be revived.

According to reports, the federal government had spent more than RM20 million on the Bario dam.