KOTA KINABALU, April 16 — The agreement for the 170MW hydropower plant dubbed Project Oriole in Sabah’s west coast should be finalised by mid-2024 to meet the completion deadline of 2028, said Jentayu Sustainable Bhd chief executive officer Baevinraj Thiagarajah.

He said the company has begun the pre-development work to secure land and lay the groundwork for the run-of-river hydropower project, but has yet to commence construction.

"In essence the work has started but we have not secured the final PPA requirements to achieve financial close for the project,” he said.

Jentayu has spent RM73.67 million in completing consultations with the federal and state governments, securing land, water use rights, building infrastructures to access the sites and survey.

"The company is now waiting for the green light for construction and commissioning of the plant after obtaining the PPA.

"The project is expected to be completed by end of 2027 or by early 2028,” he said, adding that he hopes to get the project off the ground as soon as possible.

Project Oriole is the development of two hydropower plants in Sabah’s Sipitang district, along Sungai Maligan and Hulu Sungai Padas — that is estimated to cost RM2.77 billion.

It is part of the Sabah Energy Roadmap and Masterplan 2040 released on September 19, 2023.

Sabah Electricity owns a 20 per cent stake into the project while Yayasan Sabah owns 10 per cent.

Once completed Jentayu will be contributing some 16 per cent share of the total power generation of Sabah, along with another 40MW from the Telekongsang Hydro One and Telengkongsang Hydro Two in Tenom, Sabah.