By DayakDaily Team
SIBU, Nov 3: The Sarawak government has allocated RM300 million to upgrade the Salim Water Treatment Plant here, enabling its production capacity to double from 150 million to 300 million litres per day.
In a TVS report, Sarawak Minister for Utility and Telecommunications Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi said the expansion was necessary as the plant currently lacked an adequate reserve margin in its existing supply capacity.
He said the project was the largest single water treatment plant upgrading project undertaken in Sarawak and was fully funded by the Sarawak government.
“The Sarawak government has provided a substantial allocation to upgrade the Salim Water Treatment Plant. The total cost is RM300 million, funded entirely through the Sarawak government’s own budget.
“The upgrading works to increase the plant’s capacity from 150 million to 300 million litres of water per day represent the largest single plant upgrading project we have undertaken in Sarawak,” he said when met by reporters after officiating at the Acute System Rantau Panjang and subsequently visiting the Salim Water Treatment Plant upgrading project here today.
Julaihi said the project is expected to be completed in early 2027 and will increase the water supply system’s capacity to meet the needs of residents in urban areas, villages, longhouses, and the industrial sector.
In a related development, he said water supply infrastructure development in the central region also includes several other treatment plants to meet the needs of their respective areas.
“Among them, the Basong Water Treatment Plant in Mukah is being upgraded to increase its capacity from 60 million to 120 million litres per day, while the Bayong Water Treatment Plant in Sarikei has a capacity of 100 million litres per day.
“In Sibu, the Bukit Lima Water Treatment Plant has a capacity of 45 million litres per day, while the Tanjung Manis Water Treatment Plant has a capacity of 30 million litres per day,” he said.
For other areas, the water treatment plant in Kapit has a capacity of nearly 30 million litres per day, with design approval already granted for a capacity expansion.
Meanwhile, development work for new water treatment plants in Kanowit, with a capacity of 20 million litres per day, and Song, with a capacity of 25 million litres per day, has also begun.
These projects are part of the Sarawak government’s Sarawak Water Supply Master Plan to strengthen treated water production capacity across the central region. — DayakDaily
