GEORGE TOWN: Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) has urged the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry to speed up the approval of the proposed Sungai Perak Raw Water Transfer Scheme (SPRWTS) project.
PBAPP CEO Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said that no decision had been made yet on whether the water resources from Sungai Perak would be sold to Penang as raw water or treated water.
“We had a meeting in September and Penang has reiterated that we want raw water. We have submitted a proposal and they are looking at it,” he told reporters, near here today.
He said PBAPP had also been pushing the ministry to fast-track the decision-making process as Phase 1 of the SPRWTS needed to be commissioned by 2025.
“The (Penang) Chief Minister (Chow Kon Yeow) has written a letter to the Minister (Datuk Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar) sometime between the end of last month and early this month,” he said.
The SPRWTS project was initiated by PBAPP to tap Penang’s second water resources in Sungai Perak to meet future water demands for Penang and northern Perak until 2050.
The water issue has been a long-standing one between the two states, with Perak insisting on selling treated water, and Penang wanting raw water.
The ministry was reported to have said that it would take into consideration the proposals from the two state governments in order to determine the best option that would bring mutual benefits.
This includes a third ‘hybrid’ option, which is incorporating transfers of both raw water and treated water to Penang and Perak water supply infrastructure.
Earlier, Jaseni attended the ‘Jom Kenali Sungai Kelian’ campaign organised by the Penang Island City Council to raise awareness on safeguarding the state’s water sources.
The programme, which was held on Nov 3, 10 and today in Tanjung Bungah involved activities such as beach cleaning and site visits to Sungai Kelian. - Bernama
