(AFP) - The government has not yet decided on the award of contracts for the giant Bakun dam, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today.

The Sun reported that Sarawak tycoon Ting Pek Khiing has won a 200 million ringgit (52.6 million dollar) tender for a coffer dam, a structure used to hold back the water flow while the main damn is built.

A company controlled by Ting won the contract for the main dam several years ago before the controversial project was stalled by the financial crisis of the late 1990s.

"Anybody who makes a good offer deserves to have it (a contract)," Mahathir told journalists when asked about the report.

"I don't want to discriminate against anybody simply because he is a controversial figure."

The coffer dam, expected to take 18 months to build, will allow construction of the permanent 205-metre-high (676-foot) hydroelectric dam.

The nine billion ringgit project involves flooding an area the size of Singapore to create an eventual generating capacity of 2,400 megawatts.

Mahathir said the government was not concerned about who won the contract as long as they had not broken any laws.

"If the person does something wrong, we would take action. But if the person does not do anything wrong and just wants to do something that is beneficial to us, I think we should evaluate on performance and not on the history," he said.

The government announced in 1997 it was taking over the project after Bakun Hydroelectric Corporation (BHC) failed to raise enough funds.

Ting, through his listed company Ekran Bhd had a 32 percent stake in BHC.

The size of the dam has attracted fierce criticisms for its effect on the environment and on around 10,000 locals who have already been moved out of their homes.

Environmentalists say its capacity far exceeds future power needs in the eastern state of Sarawak.