As defined by the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), a “large dam” is at least 15 m tall or must carry at least 3 million cubic meters of water. The controversial Bakun Dam, located at Balui River, about 200 km from Bintulu town in Sarawak, easily meets these criteria of a large dam.

Once completed, Bakun Dam would be 205 m tall, making it the second tallest dam in the world outside China. After nearly 15 years (which included several delays), the Bakun dam is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 with a cost overrun of nearly RM2 billion (about one-quarter more than the initial expected cost).

The Bakun Dam would generate 2,400 MW of electricity. Initially, it was planned that 70% of that generated electricity would be delivered to Peninsular (West) Malaysia and the rest to East Malaysia. However, according to the blog by Dato’ Sri Peter Chin Kah Fui, the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, all of Bakun’s generated electricity would remain in Sarawak for the development of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) to make Sarawak a developed state by 2020.