KOTA KINABALU – The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government today announced it will replace the Papar Dam proposal with phase three of the Kota Kinabalu water supply plan to resolve the water shortage in Papar, Kota Kinabalu, and the surrounding areas.
Sabah Assistant Works Minister Datuk Limus Jury told The Vibes that the previously proposed dam will be shelved, but phase three of the plan will still entail the construction of a dam – in the same locality of the controversial Papar Dam.
“With this, the ministry believes that the water shortage problems in Papar and Kota Kinabalu districts can be solved soon,” he said earlier in the state assembly.
He said this in reply to a question from Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (Umno-Usukan), who asked about the state Works Ministry’s initiative to resolve water shortage problems in Sabah’s interior.
Limus, however, made no explanation on the supply plan.
Meanwhile, Jannie Lasimbang (DAP-Kepayan) asked Limus on the Papar Dam’s environmental and social impact assessments.
Limus replied that his ministry has already studied the feasibility of the dam’s implementation and will proceed after an assessment by Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Institute of Development Studies of Sabah.
He also said an additional budget of RM450 million has been approved for rural water supply projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan budget (2021-2025), covering five new areas – Kemabong Tenom, Kiulu, and around Tuaran, Ranau, Sook, and Kg Ulu Bakut Tuaran.
“It is hoped that these projects can also help resolve the lack of water supply in the interior areas of Sabah,” he said.
Papar Dam, formerly known as the Kaiduan Dam, was supposed to be constructed to end the acute water shortage in Sabah’s west coast by 2024.
Previously, Sabah geologist expert Felix Tongkul had proposed the construction of reservoirs instead of a dam.
Tongkul said a reservoir would not affect the natural biodiversity and heritage in Ulu Papar, and keep the natural flow of the Papar River.
He added that if the flow of water in the river was impeded by a dam, it would not only disrupt the natural balance of the area, causing the loss of natural heritage and destruction of crops, but result in soil erosion, a biologically dead river, and saltwater intrusion.
He said a dam could also induce micro quakes as a result of extra water pressure, which would affect the local population and plants.
Anti-dam groups had opposed the programme as it would affect several local village communities including Kg Babagon Laut, Tiku, Timpayasah, and others.
Local anti-dam groups Task Force Against Kaiduan Dam and the Save Papar River Committee had initially opposed the dam project siting in Ulu Papar, Penampang under the Barisan Nasional government.
During the Warisan government’s time, however, the dam was renamed and re-sited a few kilometres downriver in Papar, which also faced opposition.
Its proposed location is in Mondoringin, a remote location in Ulu Papar, the state’s largest water catchment area spanning the Penampang and Papar districts.
Earlier this year, they also called for the establishment of an independent commission to study the impact of the Papar Dam, and asked the state government to consider Tongkul’s views on construction of reservoirs. – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
