Kelantan's water capacity request exceeds need - minister

 

The request of the Kelantan state government for a water capacity of almost 2,000 million litres per day (mlpd) is above the current need of the state which is about 500mlpd.

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said this following the request of the state government seeking an allocation of RM8 billion to meet a demand capacity that is several times above the actual requirement of the state.

“As such, we need to review what is needed. At the same time, what is needed should be proportional to the construction of water treatment plants to overcome the problem of non-revenue water (NRW).

“Due to NRW, even if we build more water treatment plants, there will still be water leakage and not reach consumers,” Nik Nazmi (above) told the media when asked to comment on Kelantan’s request, which wants RM8 billion to build five water treatment plants and reservoirs.

He made the comment after a briefing on the cooperation between Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB) and Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) with the United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia and Brunei, at Mangrove Point, Port Klang yesterday.

Finding the best solution

At the same time, Nik Nazmi said his ministry remains committed to finding the best solution, including the main project that needs to be implemented to completely solve the water problem in Sabah and Kelantan.

“Both state governments have communicated their requests on what is required. Meanwhile, the federal government has a legal framework that needs to be followed either at the federal level under the National Water Services Commission or at the Sabah level under the state government.

“But the prime minister emphasised that we have a responsibility as the central government to help Sabah as well,” he said.

- Bernama