Long Pasia residents want stalled solar hybrid project be continued

SIPITANG, June 29 (Bernama) --  The residents of Long Pasia, here, are appealing for the stalled solar hybrid project under the Rural Electricity Supply Programme (BELB) at two stations, namely, Kampung Long Pasia and Kampung Meligan since 2017, be resumed by the government.

Sani Miasin, community development leader (PPM), Sipitang state constituency, said the project design and construction in 2017 was through direct negotiation and should have been completed in 2019.

“The failure of the main contractor to complete the project is a loss for the people as they could not enjoy electricity supply through the government’s BELB programme.

"Until now, the project failed to be completed according to the schedule," he said through a statement, here, today.

Long Pasia, an interior highland area that is known for its tourism appeal, is located 249 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and can only be visited through air travel or land journey on a four-wheel-drive vehicle that takes over three hours.

BELP,  a programme under the Rural Development Ministry, supplies sufficient electricity round the clock to rural and interior areas.

Sani said based on information on the project signboard which had collapsed, the main contractor was NM 13 Sdn Bhd from  Shah Alam, Selangor, the main consultant engineers from EP Engineering Services in Penampang, and the civil and structural engineering consultants from Alamega Konsult, also from Penampang.

He said the BELB hybrid solar system project could supply power to over 500 homes in seven villages, namely, Kampung Long Pasia, Kampung Meligan, Kampung Ulu Bole, Kampung Mangayam, Kampung Rundulang, Kampung Iburu and Kampung Long Mio.

"The building of the system at the two stations is very important as the villages haven’t been enjoying electricity supply," he added.

Meanwhile, tourist guide Anthony Pikut, 32, said the residents of Long Pasia currently had to incur high electricity supply costs as they depended on diesel-run generators.

“The residents here are not rich and many do manual jobs. When there are tourists around, they can earn some money but during the COVID-19 pandemic and with no tourists coming, life was tough for them.

“Therefore, with electricity supply, the residents not only can benefit but the area’s tourism sector can also be expanded,” he added.

-- BERNAMA