Penang To Implement Four More Major Water Supply Projects

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- The Federal government is collaborating with the Penang government and the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) to carry out four additional major water supply projects for the state.

PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk K. Pathmanathan said the four projects were discussed at the meeting chaired by Sulaiman Kamisan, the director of the Water Supply Division (BBA) of the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), in Putrajaya last month.

"State Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari headed the state government delegation as well as the PBAPP at the meeting, with one of the four projects being the 400 million litres of water per day (MLD) Lahar Yooi Pump House Project to allow for faster refilling of the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (EMD).

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"The other projects are the 440 MLD dual-purpose pipeline from the EMD to the Sungai Dua Canal; and the off-river storage schemes, or Takungan Air Pinggiran Sungai (TAPS), in Sungai Dua and Sungai Muda,” he said in a statement today.

He said that the 440 MLD Lahar Yooi Pump House, under Phase 2 of the Mengkuang Dam Expansion Project (MDEP), would be built to pump an additional 440 MLD of raw water from Sungai Muda to refill the 86.4 billion-litre capacity EMD more efficiently during the wet season.

Pathmanathan said the Lahar Yooi Pump House would support PBAPP's plan to convert the EMD from a strategic drought reserve to a daily-use dam once the new 114 MLD Mengkuang Dam Water Treatment Plant (LRA) is completed next year.

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He said this would also indirectly ensure that maximum drawdowns from the EMD of up to 1,040 MLD are sustainable during emergencies that threaten the water supply in Penang.

He added that, according to the BBA, the federal project to build the Lahar Yooi Pump House had been approved and would be funded by the remaining allocation from the RM1.2 billion MDEP budget.

"As for the 440 MLD dual-purpose pipeline, the state government and the PBAPP are seeking federal assistance to lay a new pipeline from the EMD to the Sungai Dua Canal to support the operations of the proposed Lahar Yooi Pump House,” he said.

Pathmathan said this would channel an additional 440 MLD of raw water to the dam during the wet season and an additional 440 MLD of water from the EMD to the Sungai Dua Canal to be used at the Sungai Dua LRA during emergencies.

He said the maximum drawdown from the EMD would be increased from 600 MLD to 1,040 MLD once the pipeline is operational.

He said that the other two projects, namely the Sungai Kerian TAPS and Sungai Muda TAPS, are proposed mini-dam projects for development at or near the riverbanks of Sungai Muda in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) and Sungai Kerian in Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS).

He added that excess raw water from the rivers could be kept at the two TAPS and be used to support water supply services for 24 to 48 hours during drought or other emergencies.

"After that, the TAPS can be refilled with excess raw water from the rivers, These two TAPS projects can be considered as additional insurance projects to support continuous water supply in SPU and SPS. The BBA has asked us to seek federal funding for the TAPS projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026-2030),” he said.

Pathmanathan said that once implemented, these four additional projects would ensure a stable and continuous water supply in Penang.

"These four projects are additional water projects that need to be carried out alongside the RM1.184 billion Water Contingency Plan 2030 (WCP 2030) and the RM4.5 billion Perak-Penang Water Project.

"At the same time, the PBAPP will continue implementing the remaining six of the eight WCP 2030 projects as scheduled,” he said.

-- BERNAMA