‘Priority still on treated water, power supply’
Under the 11MP, the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had ‘agreed in principle’ to implement 141 projects at an estimated cost of RM2.38 billion.
THE state has embarked earnestly on the rural transformation programmes to give more emphasis on the development of basic amenities, including the provision of water supply, to accelerate rural development.
Public Utilities Minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi said as at end of last year, the water supply coverage in the urban areas was almost 100 per cent but the coverage in the rural areas was only about 61 per cent.
As such, Dr Rundi said it was necessary to expedite the provision of treated or clean water supply to the remaining 39 per cent, comprising an estimated 114,000 households.
“Under the 11MP (11th Malaysia Plan), the Rural and Regional Development Ministry had ‘agreed in principle’ to implement 141 projects at an estimated cost of RM2.38 billion.
“Of these, 39 projects worth RM490 million had been approved in the first rolling plan. The 141 projects are expected to benefit some 55,000 households,” he said in his ministerial winding up speech during the State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday.
Dr Rundi stated that the state had also allocated RM668 million under 11MP for raw water source development, master plan studies, consultancies and system improvement works in critical areas.
To facilitate the provision of water supply to the remote areas
Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi, Public Utilities Minister
which were not accessible by road, Dr Rundi said his ministry had formulated the programme called Sarawak Alternative Rural Water Supply (Sawas).
“With the cooperation from the agencies concerned, including the Department of Health, the identification of the villages on the ground is nearly completed. Due to the localities and the cost involved, Sawas is proposed to be implemented in phases based on priority and the availability of funds.”
Dr Rundi said the state also recognised the inconvenience of frequent interruptions faced by consumers due to pipe breakages or plant breakdowns, adding that to help address these problems, some 1,600km of asbestos cement pipes and other aged pipes would be replaced over a period of five to 10 years.
About 32 water treatment plants and 90 reservoirs had also been identified for retro- fitting, he said.
“The projects under the programmes for Sawas, pipe replacement and retrofitting of treatment plants are referred to as ‘ intervention projects’ for Rural Transformation. While requesting for fund from the federal government, I wish to thank the Chief Minister ( Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem) for providing a special allocation of RM106 million from the state coffer to ‘ kick start’ the above programmes.”
On Rural Electrification Schemes (RES), Dr Rundi said the state faced the challenge as about half of its population was in rural areas, including those sparsely dispersed across geographically challenging terrain in the interior.
“But this has not hampered the state’s commitment to electrify the rural communities to ensure that everyone benefits, no matter where they live.
“At the last sitting of this august House, I mentioned that the rural electrification coverage as at end of 2015 was 86 per cent and that the number of households yet to be electrified was estimated at about 41,000.
“This estimate was based on data compiled from previous studies and from applications received. My ministry is now carrying out verification exercise with the District Residents and District Officers from all the divisions in the state to determine the names, locations, population and accessibility of all the villages and longhouses which are without electricity or potable water supply.
“This information will enable the ministry to determine more accurately the extent of the coverage and to plan for the implementation of the rural electrification as well as rural water supply projects in the underserved areas.”
In order to accelerate the transformation of the rural areas, Dr Rundi said the cabinet committee on rural transformation had been formed.
One of the key result areas of this committee was to accelerate the provision of electricity supply to the rural areas, with the target of achieving 100 per cent electrification by 2025.
“The strategies are to extend 33/11kV distribution lines from the existing grid to the rural areas; to construct new main substations at strategic locations for RES grid extensions and to provide alternative electricity supply such as solar and microhydro ( power) to remote rural areas which cannot be connected to the grid, through the solar hybrid programme and the Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (Sares).”
He said the estimated total cost to achieve 100 per cent electrification was about RM8 billion.
“Under 11MP, the federal government has to date approved a provision of RM1,355 million of which RM850 million is for grid extension projects and RM505 million is for alternative systems under the solar hybrid programme and Sares.
“Implementation of the projects is currently in progress. Contracts for grid extension projects with a total value of RM850 million which will benefit 14,020 households are now in various stages of implementation.”
Dr Rundi said under the solar hybrid programme, five projects with a total cost of RM434 million were also in progress and when completed, would benefit 2,469 households.
“Under Sares, the first phase of the projects costing RM71 million commenced in May 2016. The projects will benefit 58 villages with a total of 1,439 households. It is anticipated that the projects for 43 villages will be completed in January 2017, and the remaining 15 villages in May 2017.”