then low-cost alternative of natural gas as fuel for developing the petrochemical industry. Second attempt It was revived in September 1993 by the Malaysian Federal Government led by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. In January 1994, a privatised contract was awarded to Ekran Berhad. In April 1995, Ekran completed the EIA of the project. The project was to cost US$2.4 billion and was originally scheduled for completion in 2003. The dam was to be built beginning in 1994 by a privatised joint-venture consortium called Bakun Hydroelectric Corporation, comprising Ekran Berhad, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the government of Sarawak, Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco), and Malaysia Mining Corporation Bhd (MMC). Ekran awarded the electromechanical works and the transmission portion to ABB. ABB's consortium partner for the civil works will be Companhia Brasileira de Projetos e Obras (CBPO) of Brazil, a large civil engineering company belonging to the Odebrecht Group, responsible for the construction of the dam and power house. Engineering consulting firms involved in the project then were TNB Hydro, a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad and KLIA Consult. Ekran launched a rights issue to finance the building of the dam, but it was undersubscribed and Ting Pek Khing (Ekran's chairman) had to put up $500 million to take up the unsubscribed portion as part of his agreement with the underwriters. Ekran was a company of Ting Pek Khing, himself a timber businessman. Neither he nor his company had built a dam before. The entire project was not tendered publicly, and instead was awarded by government contract. The project was halted in 1997 in the face of the Asian financial crisis. When the project was shelved, the Malaysian government took back the project from this consortium. By this time, RM1.6 billion had already been paid out by the government. RM700 million to RM1.1 billion was paid as 'compensation' to Ekran, according to figures disclosed in Parliament. The completed works were the river diversion tunnels by Dong Ah of Korea for RM400 million, and to Global Upline for work completed on the auxiliary cofferdams for RM60 million. Other works are for selective clearing of biomass, and relocation of the affected native residents. The government had also turned over RM1 billion for the purchase of eight turbines. Third attempt In May 2000 it was revived through a 100% government-owned company, Sarawak Hidro, but the transmission of power to Peninsular Malaysia was not part of