RM97 mln Pitas water treatment plant expansion approved
PITAS: The government has approved a RM97 million water treatment plant project in the district to expand the current plant in order to provide for the expanding population.
Incumbent Pitas assemblyman Datuk Bolkiah Ismail disclosed that he was aware of the water supply problem in the district and said he could hardly wait for the project to start immediately this year after the contractors have been finalised.
“The average production of the current water treatment plant is only four million litres daily, obviously an insufficient amount compared to the demand of nine million litres daily.
“With the expansion project, which is expected to be completed by 2019, I am hoping it will not only be enough for the people but also for business activities in this area.
“Apart from expanding the plant, the project also includes repairing water leakages, which have become very serious in Pitas,” he revealed after meeting voters in Pitas as part of his campaign activities.
Aside from the shortage of water supply, Bolkiah admitted that formal financial service was another pressing issue in Pitas.
“After winning this GE14 (14th General Election), I will be working on this matter. I will make sure Pitas will have at least one bank.
“We could not get commercial banks to set up their branches here because of the population. Most banks require a population of at least 100,000 before opening a branch, but unfortunately, Pitas’ population is only around 50,000.
“However, I think I can request for Bank Simpanan Nasional or Agro Bank to open their branch in Pitas,” he added.