‘Selangor govt has 4 months to agree on water migration plan’
NILAI: The Selangor government has been given four months until July to agree to implement the water migration process to prevent the water crisis in the state from worsening.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said if Selangor declined to agree, many implications would arise.
This, he said, included the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant (LRA), which had completed the process of testing and commissioning, being left idle.
“Langat 2 LRA can supply 10 per cent margin of the Selangor water storage amounting to 565 million litres per day (MLD).
“Currently, the water storage margin in Selangor is at zero. This means that the water supply is not enough to be channelled to other places. The level of water consumption in Selangor is very high.”
Zaini said this after the Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) dialogue session and the Green Technology Master Plan 20172030 at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia here on Monday.
He said Selangor and other states that did not implement the water migration process had to incur high cost between RM3 billion and RM8 billion, for the plant construction, pipe replacements and maintenance. He said no company would be willing to spend that much.
“For instance, in Selangor, what happened was that they did small maintenance works, such as fixing leaky pipes.
“If the 40-year-old pipes are not replaced, they will burst and the situation becomes worse. This is not just a water issue, it is about not having enough water storage margin.”
Zaini said the Federal Government had allocated RM1.9 billion to build off-river storage (ORS) in four states to ensure continuous water supply to accommodate daily needs and support the development of the areas.
“During the tabling of 2018 Budget, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had approved an allocation of RM400 million for the construction of ORS in Linggi, Negri Sembilan, RM300 million in Melaka and RM600 million respectively in Langkawi, Kedah and Johor.
“The ORS to be built in Linggi is to support the development of the Malaysia Vision Valley in the area.”
Zaini said the consultation process for the ORS project had been initiated and the construction was expected to start next year.
It would take two to three years to complete the project.