THE federal government will help Sarawak resolve problems related to non-revenue water (NRW), said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who described the problem as serious.
"The percentage of NRW is large in Sarawak. More than 40 percent of treated water wastages in the form of NRW has been reported in Sarawak due to leakages of pipes and burst pipelines.
"At the national level, we are setting a target of reducing such water wastage to less than 35 percent at least.
"Putrajaya will help Sarawak as well as other states facing such high level of NRW to upgrade or replace their piping systems.
"National fundings in the form of grants will be arranged," he said when attending an event in Kuching.
Putrajaya will help six state governments to replace old public pipe systems and Sarawak heads the list as it has a vast network of aged pipes.
"The Federal Government will provide financial fundings to replace the water pipes that have not been upgraded for 50 years.
"Sarawak, Sabah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perlis and Federal Territory of Labuan are the states in focus.
"They will be able to replace the old water pipes for the benefit of the rakyat to get clean treated water.
"This will also help to reduce water wastages as these six states are recording significant losses due to water leakages because of these aged and leaking pipes," he said.
Fadillah said for replacing the water pipes, Putrajaya is giving direct fundings to the six states.
He said the Unity Government is concerned with the public amenities in these states and wants to make sure the rakyat benefits from better-quality amenities. – March 10, 2025
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