PBAPP To Expedite Multi-billion Ringgit Water Projects For Penang

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) is working to expedite the implementation of multi-billion ringgit water projects for the state.

In a statement today, PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk K.Pathmanathan said four projects under the Water Contingency Plan 2030 (WCP 2030) would begin this year, with a total projected investment of RM824 million.

He added that the projects included building treated water pipelines from the Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to Butterworth and from the Macallum area to Bukit Dumbar to increase the pumping of treated water from Sungai Dua to consumers on Penang Island.

Pathmanathan said that the other two projects were the construction of the new 114 million litres per day (MLD) Mengkuang Dam WTP with the conversion of the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (EMD) into a “daily dam” to support better water supply services in Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) and the new 114 MLD Sungai Kerian WTP to boost water supply services in Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS).

“The Penang government and PBAPP would like to thank Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) for its commitment to collaborating on two other projects under WCP 2030 in Penang, namely the new 136 MLD Sungai Perai WTP and the new 114 MLD Sungai Muda WTP.

“PAAB is committed to providing funding for these 2 projects with an estimated value of RM1.023 billion. PBAPP will repay PAAB via favourable long-term financing terms,” he said.

Pathmanathan said that at the same time, the Penang government and PBAPP would seek the timely implementation of the following six federal water projects for Penang, with a total projected investment of between RM500 million and RM700 million.

He said that the six projects included the construction of the new RM214 million 440 MLD Lahar Yooi Pump House (Phase 2C of the Mengkuang Dam Expansion Project – MDEP), a new 440 MLD Dual-Purpose Pipeline connecting the EMD and the Sungai Dua Canal, and the Sungai Muda and Sungai Kerian Off-River Storage Scheme (ORSS).

He said that the other projects were the Bukit Panchor Dam upgrading works (currently under feasibility study by the consultant) and the new RM118 million Sungai Muda Barrage in Rantau Panjang, which would allow access to 1,500 MLD of raw water from Sungai Muda.

“The Lahar Yooi Pump House and the 440 MLD Dual-Purpose Pipeline may be funded by ‘left-over federal funds’ from the MDEP. Penang will apply for federal funding for the 2 ORSS projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026-2030),” he said.

Pathmanathan explained that efforts to expedite the implementation of all the projects were in response to increasing water consumption driven by socioeconomic growth as well as climate change.

As for the Perak-Penang Water Project, he said the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) had issued a public tender for the appointment of a consultant for physical works for the Raw Water Transfer Project from Sungai Perak for Water Supply in North Perak and Penang.

According to him, the federal allocation for the project was reportedly about RM1.7 billion, and PETRA’s public tender exercise to appoint the consultant for physical works clearly showed that the federal government was committed to implementing the project on time for Penang by 2030.

-- BERNAMA