Published on: Saturday, May 22, 2004 |
Alor Setar: The Federal Government has agreed, in principle, to allocate a few hundred million ringgit to reduce the 65 per cent Non-Revenue Water (NRW) problem in Sabah, said Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan.
Tan said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik gave the assurance during a courtesy call at the latters office in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday.
Tan said Dr Lim did not state the exact amount he would be bringing up to the Federal Government to be approved for Sabah, but anticipated it to be around a few hundred million ringgit.
Tan felt the State Government would need at least RM600 million to reduce the 65 per cent NRW down to 20 per cent, which is the acceptable percentage.
Dr Lim, he said, had commented that Sabahs water problem where only 35 per cent of water produced reaches consumers was a serious one.
Reducing the NRW, which at 60 per cent is the highest in the county, he said meant repairing and replacing pipes in Sabah to reduce the wastage.
Speaking at a press conference here, Friday, Tan said faulty water pipes was among the reasons for the high NRW apart from water pilfering.
But if we can address burst and leaking water piping problems I believe we can solve half the 65 per cent NRW, he said.
Tan also assured that his Ministry would ensure that the State Water Departments billing and collection system are efficient enough to get the money to pay up the loan to the Federal Government.
We hope that the people will also cooperate and pay up the water bills promptly, he said.
On the privatisation of water, Dr Lim said it must be done in full and not in portions like what is being done now.
Tan said the Federal Government would not mind if a private company can come up with the funds needed for the water supply services.
THE Federal Government will not be able to help in terms of paying the amount owed to the three concessionaires - Jetama, Timatch Sdn Bhd and Lahad Datu Water Supply - which had snowballed to about RM900 million and wanted the State Government to source it from elsewhere.
Tan said Dr Lim was unhappy over the terms of the agreement between the State Government and the three concessionaires. He said addressing the water supply problem in Sabah would ultimately bring out skeletons in the closet. However, he did not elaborate.
He (Lim) was concerned with the State Governments debts to the concessionaires and said it would be quite difficult if the money was just for solving the debts because it wont solve the problem since the problem is not enough water, he said.
Dr Lim urged the State Government to sit down with the three concessionaires to explain to them which are the areas that should be reviewed in the contract of supply.
Among the provisions in the contract that need to be reviewed are the capital cash and bulk supplies rate.
We need to look at how much the State Government has paid to them for the capital cost because the State Government is paying not only for the treatment of water but also for the cost of building the water treatment plants.
The Minister wants us to look into all this, the payment for the capital investment as well as the rate of payment, he said, adding that the State Government would be invoking the clause that provides for a yearly review of the contract.
The bottom line is there is no money to pay the debts, said Tan, adding that his Ministry was ready to meet the three concessionaires to discuss this.
TAN also briefed Dr Lim on a 15-year advanced planning for water supply infrastructure development in anticipation of an increase in consumption of water due to the growing population.
This resulted in, among others, a 20 per cent water shortage in the State capital and 38 per cent in Sandakan. More housing estates are coming up but I cannot guarantee that there will be water in the taps, he lamented.
An estimated RM1.2 billion is needed just to develop the infrastructure to bring down the critical water shortage in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Papar and Kudat.
As for the whole State, Tan estimated it needed another RM2 billion and this he added was the State Governments biggest task.
On hearing this, Tan said Dr Lim suggested that the State government draw up a financial model to spread over several stages in the stipulated time so that the development plan to set up the necessary facilities to meet demand for water can be done.
Tan told Dr Lim that the State Cabinet had already approved two weeks ago a financial model, which he presented to Dr Lim.
Dr Lim was happy with the State governments commitment and preparation of the working papers, while stating that Sabah was the first in the country to have come up with such schemes for the Federal Government.
I told him that I am not seeing him to ask for a grant but a loan and after looking at the model, he assured that he would bring it to the Federal Government to be approved.
Apart from that, Tan said his Ministry had also suggested that the water tariff for the commercial premises be reviewed for the next 40 years because at present its like consumers in residential areas are subsidising these premises, which are paying the same tariff.
He said the State Government was collecting about RM80 million annually and if all the consumers paid up, then it would be possible for the State Government to service the loan.
