PAPAR: The Kampung Kogopon Phase 2 water treatment plant upgrade is expected to begin in the second quarter this year, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said.
The Papar MP said the project was currently in the last stage of assessment for tender, involves an allocation of RM379 million and will boost the plant’s production from 40 million litres a day to 80 million. The completion of the plant will resolve water issues around Papar, especially in the Kinarut area, which has been plagued by serious water disruptions.
“The tender assessment will be sent to the tender board at the Sabah Finance Ministry level in the near future and it is a project with allocation via federal loans.
“Therefore, we hope all processes, up till the selection of contractor, can be implemented smoothly,” he said, Friday.
Armizan said the project is expected to be completed in 2026 if everything goes as scheduled, adding that the District Officer has also been informed to include the project schedule in the district action council agenda so that it could be monitored till completion.
“What we want is for this project to be really completed by 2026….we don’t want the people to be burdened because of this issue,” he said, and he expressed his hope that the Government would make this project an example in the implementation of projects.
“Actually, this project has been approved in 2012, but the pre-implementation took more than 10 years, causing several problems to occur.
“The first problem was a small problem that grew bigger and the people were forced to wait a long time for things to be resolved.
“The second issue is allocation. Actually the project’s allocation is only RM312 million, but it had to be raised by 25 per cent, an additional RM67 million. I don’t blame any party, but this matter has to be a reference for other projects,” he added.
