Sewerage pipeline contractor terminated
Published on: Saturday, February 16, 2019
By: Larry Ralon
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Infrastructure Development Ministry will monitor the performance of contractors manning sewage pipelines throughout the State, to ensure they perform according to what they are supposed to do. Minister Datuk Peter Anthony said this when announcing the termination of a contractor assigned to repair the sewage pipeline from Likas Bay to Inanam, here.
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“We have decided to terminate immediately the contractor, appointed by the previous state government, for failing to perform its duties as required even after being given ample time. Today, during our round, we found our sewage pipelines in Kota Kinabalu, especially from Likas Bay to the sewage treatment plant in Inanam, in critical conditions because the contractor concerned failed to do its works fully.
“We had given ample time, about nine months, to the contractor concerned. The leaking pipeline causes sewage to flow into the drain, causing pollution, besides bad smell,” he said when met by reporters at the end of his round at the Likas Bay flood mitigation station in Tanjung Lipat, here, Friday.
Mayor Datuk Nordin Siman and Public Work Department (PWD) Director Richard Jomiji, among others, were also present. When asked, Anthony said the said contractor was appointed for a one-off RM3 million plus worth of project to repair leakages along the 10km sewage pipeline in Inanam, but the work that should have been done has not started yet.
“I have directed the PWD Director to replace the contractor concerned. So far, we did not receive any report on such contractor from other places in the State but the Ministry will continue to monitor them from time to time,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Anthony said his Ministry plans to replace the 10-kilometre long sewage pipeline from Likas Bay to the Sewage Treatment Plant in Inanam, which is expected to cost over RM20 million, as a long-term solution to end the leakage problems that cause pollution and health concern.
“We will forward our request to the Chief Minister to provide the allocation immediately because this will cost quite a lot. For this, we will immediately appoint a contractor to do the surveying work first to see the extent of leakage along the said pipeline, which is already over 30 years old, and if other areas were also affected by the problem.
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“Probably because the sewage pipeline concerned was built along an area near the sea, the salted water may have affected it and caused leakage here and there.
“We are looking at this problem seriously and because of that we want to fully resolve it immediately, because many people especially residents in the affected areas were complaining about the bad smell,” he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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