Figure 5: Current hydropower
development in Sarawak
Figure 7: An aerial view of Murum River near
the project site prior to construction
Figure 6: Murum HEP Reservoir
The Murum HEP is the second largest in
Sarawak (after Bakun). It is the first large-scale
sustainable energy project developed by Sarawak
Energy Berhad on behalf of the State Government
as part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable
Energy (SCORE) development.
SCORE is a major development initiative
designed to elevate Sarawak to developed
state status by harnessing the state’s abundant
hydropower resources to attract energy-intensive
industries into designated areas such as Samalaju,
by providing competitively priced, renewable and
reliable energy, resulting in business and industrial
growth, and raising incomes and living standards
overall.
MURUM CATCHMENT AND RESERVOIR
The Murum river catchment comprises the
uppermost sub-basin of the Rajang River in
central eastern Sarawak, adjacent to the border
with Kalimantan, Indonesia. The catchment has
an area of 2,750 km2 at the Murum dam site, and
comprises mountainous terrain characterised
by ridges of sandstone, shale and mudstone
outcrops. Ground elevation varies from 420m
at the dam site to over 2000m at the border
with Kalimantan. Soils are shallow but support
a cover of a dense rainforest, parts of which are
in the process of being selectively logged. The
catchment is drained by two major tributaries of
the Murum, namely the Danum and Plieran rivers
(see Figure 6), about 37 km downstream of the
dam site, the Murum joins the Balui River just
before it enters the gorge of the old Bakun rapids
and now the Bakun reservoir.
The reservoir lies between the foundation
elevation of 400masl at the dam site and
maximum operating level of elevation 540masl
giving a depth of 140m. The total storage volume
at the maximum operating level (540masl) is
19