PENAMPANG – The Sabah government will decide on whether to greenlight the construction of the Papar Dam once its feasibility study is completed by the third quarter of this year.
Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said only with the justifications in the study will the state cabinet decide whether the dam project will go ahead.
“The feasibility study for the dam is now at its final stages and the paper will be presented to the state cabinet for a final decision on whether it is go or no go,” said Shahelmey, who is also state works minister.
Speaking during his visit to the Moyog water treatment plant here today, the Putatan MP said any local- or peninsula-based company can take on the project so long as they are capable.
“I would say I prefer who can do it and deliver it without turning it into a sick project. Whether local or international it doesn’t matter. We need (the dam) to be delivered on time,” he said.
The dam project is part of the Kota Kinabalu master plan set 30 years ago and was supposed to deal with the inevitable water shortage in Sabah’s west coast.
The project, said to cost around RM5 billion, could not take off due to opposition from environmental groups and village folk living at the proposed dam location.
The dam was first proposed at Penampang and named the Kaiduan Dam, but later moved to the quiet Kg Mondoringin in Papar.
Meanwhile, Shahelmy has instructed the state Water Department and Public Works Department to prepare a cabinet paper on how to deal with water woes in Kota Kinabalu and Putatan.
He said there is an obvious water supply deficit in these areas, where current demand stood at 250 million litres per day (MLD) while production is at 235 MLD via the Moyog and Kasigui water treatment plants located in Penampang.
“One of the programmes is to increase the existing plants’ capacity. This had been done in Telibong (in Tuaran) under the Urgent Water Supply Scheme (UWSS) initiative.
“The plan is to increase the plant capacity by another 5 MLD,” said Shahelmy, adding that the construction of such a facility could take between six and 12 months to complete.
He said the UWSS would also be able to reduce about 38% non-revenue water to at least around 25% in these areas.
On another note, Shahelmy also welcomed the suggestion from Upko honorary president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau to transform the Water Department into a water commission.
“He (Tangau) said he wanted to see me over this. I most welcome him to talk. We would definitely make an effort on any good suggestion,” Shahelmey said. – The Vibes, January 16, 2023
