KUCHING – Four major water supply projects estimated to involve an overall cost of about RM18 billion have been proposed to be implemented in Sarawak during the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) period, state Utilities Minister Datuk Stephen Rundi Utom said today.
He said these projects include the Sarawak Water Supply Master Plan and Water Grid – the extension of pipelines to communities that can be connected to the existing water supply network system, and the implementation of the Sarawak Alternative Rural Water Supply (Sawas) project to cover remote rural areas.
“Apart from these projects, my ministry has also embarked on a holistic non-revenue water (NRW) management programme in order to reduce NRW to 25% in Sarawak,” he said at a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between his ministry, the Malaysian Construction Academy and Sarawak Skills Development Centre here.
He said Sarawak has been aspiring to have world-class utilities that would be reliable, economical, safe and sustainable throughout the state to uplift the social well-being of residents.
“Under the 11MP, the state government had approved RM6.1 billion for 704 water supply-related projects to be implemented throughout Sarawak. Of these, 55% have been completed, with the remaining 45% still under various stages of implementation,” he said.
Currently, the overall water supply coverage in the state is 84.1%, and Sarawak is targeting 100% coverage by 2025.
Rundi said the signing ceremony with the two learning institutions today was an important milestone for the ministry in its efforts to increase the number of qualified pipe fitters and mains layers.
“This is indeed very timely as we foresee that we will need a lot of pipe fitters and mains layers following the expected implementation of many water supply projects, as well as building projects, in the upcoming 12MP,” he added.
The 12MP covers the period from 2021 to 2025. – Bernama, December 8, 2020
