Study to expand rail network Statewide
Published on: Saturday, November 28, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: A comprehensive study to explore the prospect of expanding the existing rail network to cover the whole State is in the works with the objective of identifying relevant factors such as the impact, means and cost implication of implementing the expansion work.Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, in his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly, said the plan is necessary as part of the Railway Department's long-term strategy.In the meantime, the department will continue to conduct maintenance works on its existing assets to ensure that railway service becomes the transportation of choice with the provision of an effective and safe railway transportation service.ADVERTISEMENT "My ministry is aware of the frequent railway service interruption between Hagoliat and Tenom. The main reason behind this is the unavoidable damages to locomotives. The issue is expected to be solved with the availability of a locomotive which will be provided to the department by the end of 2016," he said.Pairin also reiterated the State government's desire of converting Sabah into the shipping hub for Bimp-Eaga with countries in the Far East and South Pacific."With this capacity, it is estimated that the country's economy will continue to rise and, at the same time, encourage investors to come to Sabah. Therefore, our strategy in 2016 is focused towards improving our efficiency level by increasing our average boxes move per hour, to be on par with other ports in the country and reduce wait time for vessels to dock," he said.In terms of electricity supply, he said currently, SESB's System Average Interruption Duration Index (Saidi) is 99.16 min against its original target of 310 min.ADVERTISEMENT He said the utility company had planned and implemented integrated initiatives to increase the quality of its delivery system in the State, especially in the east coast, such as replacing bare conductor cables to aerial bundle cables, partial discharge measurement for underground cables and infrared and ultrasound scanning inspection for the whole of Sabah and Labuan."The Repowering 2x30MW and Independent Power Producer (IPP) Combine Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) 300MW projects are expected to start operation in phases from 2018 to 2020," he said, adding that the percentage of electricity coverage in the State is now at 95.03 per cent.
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Power theft, he said, is made complicated because SESB does not have the authority to take action against wrongdoers because many of them are not SESB consumers.However, the Energy Commission has provisions under Section 37(3) to take legal action against power thieves and it was put to action for the first time in August this year during Ops Gasak in Sandakan."Illegal connection is a serious problem in Sabah because it is rampant. Whenever it is disconnected, pretty soon, we will find it reconnected again by irresponsible individuals. Solving this problem will need the cooperation of all enforcement agencies," he said.In terms of water supply, Pairin said there are two projects which have yet to start, namely Tawau Water Supply Scheme Phase 3 and Kundasang Water Treatment Plant. However, both are expected to commence construction by next year."For Kundasang, a new study is needed to identify a new location for its raw water source and also a new location for river intake as the previous study was done before the June earthquake," he said.There are also several good news with regards to the department this year with the reduction of non-revenue water from 59 per cent to 52 per cent, increase in revenue collection which is expected to reach RM200m due to the tariff hike implemented in February this year and increased access to treated water to 104,318 households in the rural areas."I would like to thank several leaders who have sponsored water pipe connection and water metre deposits for consumers in their respective constituencies. Their help in this matter is very much appreciated."I urge the other leaders to follow suit so that our objective of providing treated water to all our citizens in the rural areas can be achieved," he said.Meanwhile, he said that due to requests made by some leaders to review the water tariff hike, the government intends to evaluate the situation and after a meeting held between the ministry and Water Department and Sabah industry players, an agreement was reached that the new tariff be implemented for at least a year before a revision can be done. He added that the ministry is currently studying proposals to bill consumers on monthly basis instead of once in three months.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"Actually, at the moment, commercial and industry users receive their bills on monthly basis since 2003. For domestic users, the department is considering the proposal to bill them on monthly basis as well and such exercise is expected to start next year, in phases."However, all these depend on the availability of human resources, equipment and logistic requirement if it were to be implemented Statewide," he said.