Fight for water treatment plants upgrade
Sri Tanjong assemblyman Datuk Jimmy Wong remains commi ed to fight for upgrading of two water treatment plants in Tawau from the state government.
TAWAU: Sri Tanjong assemblyman Datuk Jimmy Wong remains committed to fight for upgrading of two water treatment plants in Tawau from the state government.
He told the media this after attending a special briefing by an officer of Timatch Sdn Bhd at Cinta Mata water treatment plant office in Gudang Empat Tawau here. Also present were Sri Tanjong community development leader Koo Hung Eow and Balung assemblyman Datuk Osman Jamal.
The proposed upgrading of the water treatment plants consists of two sections. The first section states that the cost for upgrading the water treatment plants under the Privatisation cum Concession Agreements amounts to RM156 million and the state government has to pay Timatch Sdn Bhd in instalments for the construction capital within 20 to 30 years.
The cost for the second section is for additional works to be financed and carried out by Timatch (these works are not part of the Privatisation cum Concession) at RM184 million.
The works include construction of two reservoirs in Tawau, associated pipelines, interconnection of the treated water transmission mains from the two plants in Tawau, fire-fighting facilities, sludge treatment facilities, SESB capital contribution, flowmeter for transmission as well as the upgrading of the presedimentation facility at Bukit Garam in Kinabatangan.
Furthermore, the construction of the Inline Booster Station at Cinta Mata, Tawau is among the additional works requested by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.
The cost is RM35.5 million which Timatch is prepared to finance, build and operate the Inline Booster Station when the proposed water dam in Tawau is built at Gudang Empat here.
According to the briefing report, the upgrading works for the water treatment plants in Tawau are needed to increase production to elevate the present and future water demand.
For Cinta Mata water plant (Tawau), the initial designed capacity of the plant was 60Ml/d (year 1997) and it was upgraded to 90 Ml/d in year 2012. The present proposed upgrading will be the final phase of upgrading to 120 Ml/d which is the maximum the plant can be upgraded.
The Utara Timatch water plant (Tawau) also will be redesigned and upgraded to 50 Ml/d.
If the upgrading works for the water treatment plants are successfully implemented, Jimmy who is Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, assured the daily production will increase and it will definitely overcome the problem of water shortage in Tawau.
Touching on the water dam construction in Gudang Empat Tawau, he hoped the government could reappoint a new contractor as soon as possible to complete the project in order to cope with the growing population of Tawau.