ALOR STAR – The Kedah government will seek private sector involvement to assist in tackling the issue of non-revenue water (NRW) in the state.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said that for now, the state government had obtained approval from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) and was awaiting a decision from the environment and water minister.
“To overcome this problem of NRW, we will involve the private sector and Kedah is set to be the first state to do so. But, we need to first get permission from SPAN and the minister involved before the process can go on.
“The private sector will invest in infrastructure and a lot of costs can be saved from there. Our target is to reduce the NRW rate in the state from 50% to 25% within the next 15 years,” he said when asked to comment on the water issue in the state.
Earlier, he had hosted a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Seri Mentaloon hall here, which was attended by over 10,000 people.
He also said that private sector involvement will help cut electricity costs by 60%, which the state government currently has to bear.
“The cost of water is not as high as that of electricity because a year we have to pay RM180 million to Tenaga Nasional Bhd. Our pumps are old and consume a lot of electricity. To change the pumps will cost millions of ringgit, so we cannot rush into changing them.
“Other developed states like Selangor also face water problems, so be patient. I am not justifying the problem, but we are making efforts and I give an assurance that infrastructure issues involving water will be resolved in the next three years,” he said.
He said all processes were underway and that, once approval was obtained for the replacement of old pipes in critical places, especially in urban areas, work would be done immediately to prevent water leakages.
Sanusi added that he understood the people’s woes regarding the water issue, but he hoped they would be patient as a solution will take time and incur high costs. – Bernama, May 7, 2022
