Nearly RM800 Mln Allocated For Water Supply Projects To Address Monsoon Impact

KUCHING, June 8 (Bernama) -- The Federal Government has allocated RM796.4 million in loans to state governments this year to finance various water supply projects.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the projects are among the government’s initiatives to mitigate the impact of the Southwest Monsoon, which is expected to bring dry weather and potential drought.

Fadillah, who is also the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said as of May this year, 28 projects under this initiative are currently underway.

Of the total, 12 are in Sabah, two in Kedah and Perlis, one in Kelantan, three in Pahang and Terengganu and five in Sarawak.

“These projects are at various stages of completion. Some are under implementation and seven are expected to be completed this year,” he told reporters after attending the Aidiladha qurban (sacrificial ritual) programme at Kampung Tupong Jaya, here today.

At the same time, Fadillah said his ministry is now focusing on resolving the issue of non-revenue water (NRW).

He said NRW is caused by various factors, including system inefficiencies, pipe leakages and water theft.

“When pipe connections are poorly installed, leakages happen. There are also old pipes that have started leaking. Overall, we estimate that the country loses 40 per cent of its treated water. This incurs high costs.

“Therefore, our current priority is to identify methods to reassess the piping systems and replace damaged pipes,” he said.

-- BERNAMA