Almost RM800mil in loans for water projects

The Star

8 hours ago

For the sacrificial feast: Fadillah (right) cutting up meat during a Program Ibadah Korban at Kampung Tupong Jaya, Kuching, in conjunction with Aidiladha. — Bernama
KUCHING: A total of RM796.4mil in loans were provided to state governments this year to finance water supply projects, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the projects were among the Federal Government's measures to mitigate the impact of the south-west monsoon which is expected to bring dry weather and potential drought.
He said as of May, 28 projects under the initiative were already underway, with 12 in Sabah, two each in Kedah and Perlis, one in Kelantan, three each in Pahang and Terengganu, and five in Sarawak.
'The projects are at various stages of completion. Some are under implementation and seven are expected to be completed this year,' he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya Aidiladha event at Kampung Tupong Jaya here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Fadillah, who is Energy Transi­tion and Water Transformation Minister, said the ministry is also focusing on resolving the issue of non-revenue water (NRW).
He said NRW was caused by various factors such as system inefficiencies, pipe leakages, and water theft.
'When pipe connections are poorly installed, leakages happen. There are also old pipes that have started leaking.
'Overall, we estimate that the country loses 40% of its treated water. This incurs high costs. So our priority is to identify methods to reassess the piping systems and replace damaged pipes,' he added.