Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor launches the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant Phase II project site Aug. 25, 2023. (JKM pic)
CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said a RM4 billion Hydroelectric Dam will be built at Ulu Padas in Tenom as a long-term solution to the water shortage in Sabah.To be launched in October, he said the dam is expected to be completed in 2027 and will have a capacity of 6,000 million litres daily (MLD).
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“It is a joint-venture project between the State Government through Sabah Energy Corporation and the private sector,” he said after launching the Phase II Kogopon Water Treatment Plant project in Papar here Aug 25.
The Chief Minister said the State Government is also currently conducting a feasibility study on the Papar or Kaiduan Dam as another long-term solution to the water shortage problem and to cater for the needs of investors.
On the water supply problem in Tuaran up to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the Chief Minister said it is expected to be resolved by the end of this year once teething issues affecting the Telibong Water Treatment Plant II project are addressed.
Hajiji assured that the State Government is making every effort to address the water woes including in Sandakan, Tawau and Lahad Datu.
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Meanwhile, the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant will undergo RM379 million upgrading works under its Phase II development to boost production capacity to 80 million litres daily (MLD) benefiting some 160,000 consumers in Putatan, Kinarut, Lok Kawi and the vicinity.
He said the project will increase water supply coverage to cater for industrial demands, particularly the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) and the Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct (SAIP) under the Sabah Development Corridor up to 2040.
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“It would help to address water shortage in the southern West Coast,” he said.
Hajiji also instructed the Water Department to strictly monitor the project’s progress to ensure it would be completed according to schedule three years from now.
“I do not want to see the project delayed and the people ended up being denied water supply,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister was briefed that the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant presently has a production capacity of 40MLD and that the upgrading project would increase production by another 40MLD.
Among the project scopes were the construction of a new treatment plant (40 MLD capacity), Balancing Reservoir with a capacity of 10 million litres, three distribution tanks in Kimanis, Kampung Nagapas (Papar) and Kampung Ketiau (Putatan) and an upgrading of the water intake.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister III cum Works Minister Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, Assistant Works Ministers Datuk Limus Juri and Datuk Robert Tawik, Kawang Assemblyman Datuk Ghulam Haidar Bahadar Khan, Limbahau Assemblyman Datuk Juil Nuatim, Works Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Datuk Ridhwan Roger Linus, Water Director Suhaimi Asbullah, Papar District Officer Mohd Fuad Abdullah and other officials.
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