Sime Darby to complete groundwater infra by end-2012

Written by Joyce Goh
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 11:16

SEOUL: SIME DARBY BHD [] is targeting to complete the infrastructure for its groundwater project in Perak by end-2012 and supply 500 million litres per day (mld) of the water to Selangor by Jan 1, 2013.

“We are still finalising the infrastructure of the groundwater project. The project should be completed by end-2012 and the first supply should come on stream by January 2013,” said Dr Azuhan Mohamed, head of water management in Sime Darby’s energy and utilities division.

Speaking on Monday to reporters on a groundwater TECHNOLOGY [] study trip here, he said the conglomerate aspired to be the “Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Bhd) of groundwater” in the country.

Without specifying the exact cost of the project, he said the project was “viable”. “To build a dam, it is two times more expensive compared to groundwater CONSTRUCTION [],” he added.

Azuhan said the appointment of contractors was expected to take place in January 2010. “The tender is not out yet. Most of the potential bidders are foreign players,” he said, adding that these foreign contractors would likely tie up with local players to make the bids more competitive.

A South Korean company, DA JOO Construction Co Ltd, which has nearly 30 years of experience in groundwater technology, is one of the potential bidders.

Azuhan also said Sime Darby was currently undertaking a groundwater project in Labuan. “Sime Darby is assisting the government to address water supply shortage in Labuan.”

For the project in Cluny/Bedfort Estate in Batang Padang, Perak, Sime Darby plans to pump 500 mld of groundwater from 10 well fields, each with a capacity of 50 mld.

To be developed in two stages, the first which involves the development of a 50 mld pilot well field is expected to be ready by year-end while the second, involving 450 mld from nine well fields, is expected to be completed by end-2012.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Sime Darby would spend about RM1.3 billion for the development of the project. The investment is said to include construction cost, piping as well as maintenance of the project.

Sime Darby has been working on the groundwater project since 2006. The group’s president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid had said it had conducted studies in a few states in the peninsula, and had chosen Batang Padang mainly because of its high rainfall, low population density and large proportion of forest.

It would be the country’s first commercial groundwater project. It is believed that others have extracted water from the ground, but from less than 100 metres deep while Sime Darby will drill to depths of up to 300m.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 4, 2009.