KUALA LUMPUR: The awarding of the 2,000mw greenfield coal-fired power plant, better known as Track 3B, will be announced by the Energy Commission (EC) soon, said the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

“The EC will make the announcement in due course. The process is transparent in line with the competitive bidding system that has been put in place for the bidding of projects by independent power producers [IPPs] which is to ensure fairness and competitiveness,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The ministry also said news reports and comments made, including that of Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara and DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua on the project award before the announcement are “baseless” and “mere speculation”.

Yesterday, The Edge Financial Daily reported that the ministry had notified the Cabinet that the highly-anticipated power project, which is estimated to cost RM11 billion, is to be awarded to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The ministry had reportedly given approval for 1MDB to get the project, which is crucial for the government-linked investment arm’s listing of its power assets.

The Track 3B project is expected to be commissioned in stages through October 2018 and April 2019.

Other bidders for the power plant are YTL Power International Bhd, which had tied up with the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail Sultan Iskandar, as well as Malakoff Bhd.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 21, 2014.