KUCHING, Nov 12: Water supply issues in Gedong, Serian have been addressed by the Ministry of Utilities (MOU) through the Sarawak Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) with an upgraded water supply system completed in October.
The project, which was fully funded by the State government, involved the laying of 39.5km of pipelines, construction of a booster pump station and a high-level tank with a one million litre capacity to cover the areas of Lubok Punggor, Lubok Buntin and Tanjung Sap.
All the flushing, disinfection, testing and commissioning works were done and the system is now ready for water supply connections, said the ministry.
“Currently, applications for water supply connections by the locals are in progress. This project will benefit 323 households in Gedong, by providing them with better and consistent water supply,” it said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, in the case of a water supply project in Mentong Merau-Mongkos area, MOU said it is fully funded by the Federal government through the Ministry of Rural Development (KPLB) with JBALB Sarawak as the implementing agency.
As a high impact project, it involves the laying of approximately 165km pipelines from Serian to Mongkos area, a one million litre capacity high-level tank along Jalan Sanggai-Mentong, a 2.5 million litre capacity high-level tank along Jalan Tebakang-Mongkos and booster pump stations along Jalan Mentong-Mongkos.
The first phase of the project, which was expected to benefit some 14 villages in the Merau-Mongkos area, was already completed in September and is ready for household connections.
“Currently, the process of installing water meters is still being carried out by JBALB upon receiving the applications for water supply connections from the house owners.
“As for the second phase of the project, the process of testing and commissioning for mechanical and electrical works, as well as flushing and disinfection of the pipelines is currently in progress,” it added.
In the second phase, eight out of the 31 villages with about 2,900 households will be able to apply for water supply connections by the end of 2021, while the remaining 23 villages still need submains and communication pipes to be laid before household connections can be carried out.
These works are currently being carried out separately under the ‘Project Rakyat Programme’ which commenced in September and is expected to be completed by the middle of 2022.
“Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi assured that his ministry together with the implementing agencies are collaborating and working together to enhance the constancy and the coverage of water supply to cater to the ever-increasing demand of the populace state-wide,” MOU assured.
The ministry was responding to a statement on Nov 9 by Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) southern zone political affairs director Raymond Thong, who demanded answers from the State government regarding delayed water supply projects in Gedong and Mentong Merau-Mongkos.
Thong reflected that, in Gedong, though water distribution pipes have been laid along the roads, they have yet to be connected to the houses.
He added that the Mentong Merau-Mongkos project which started on Nov 14, 2017 was also experiencing major delays from the initially planned completion deadline of Nov 12, 2019. — DayakDaily
