By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 19: Sarawak’s overall clean and treated water supply coverage has increased to 86.1 per cent from 85.6 per cent last year, while the State’s electricity generation capacity has reached 5,928 megawatts (MW), exceeding the demand of approximately 4,800MW.
Building on this progress, Sarawak is continuing to expand its water supply network and increase electricity generation capacity, targeting 10,000MW by 2030 and 15,000MW by 2035, with at least 60 per cent of the capacity coming from renewable energy sources, Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi said in his ministerial winding up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) today.
Water supply coverage
Julaihi noted that the water supply coverage in rural areas have reached 72 per cent.
To achieve full coverage and meet growing demand for water, he pointed out that the Sarawak Government aims to construct and upgrade 32 major water treatment plants and lay 2,934 kilometres of water grid pipelines across the State.
To date, he said, 10 plants and 561 kilometres of water grid pipelines have been completed, while the remaining 22 plants and 2,373 kilometres of pipelines are either under implementation or scheduled for implementation.
“To ensure water security, Sarawak is developing a water grid system connecting the Southern Region to the Northern Region, in line with the Sarawak Water Supply and Water Grid Master Plan. Meanwhile, remote areas beyond the grid network will be supplied through the Sarawak Alternative Water Supply (SAWAS) programme.”
In addition, to further improve water supply coverage in remote and rural areas in Sarawak, he said, eight alternative water supply system projects under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) have been approved for implementation in the Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Kapit, Mukah, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang divisions, with these projects currently at the design stage.
Providing an update on the progress of the water supply grid system across the three regions, Julaihi explained that the Southern Region, covering Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman and Betong, involves the construction and upgrade of nine plants and approximately 1,132 kilometres of pipelines; the Central Region, covering Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah and Kapit, involves 12 plants and approximately 1,183 kilometres of pipelines; while the Northern Region, covering Bintulu, Miri and Limbang, involves 11 major plants and approximately 619 kilometres of pipelines.
The Sarawak Government has also allocated RM6.46 billion under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13) and alternative funding for a total of 361 water supply projects.
To date, he said 338 projects, or 94 per cent, have been completed or are under construction, while the remaining projects are at the pre-implementation stage.
“For 2026, RM662.7 million has been allocated to implement water supply extension projects under RMK-13 and alternative funding,” he added.
Electricity supply
On Sarawak’s electricity supply, Julaihi said three major projects with a combined capacity of 3,285MW were being implemented to support Sarawak’s targets of reaching 10,000MW in 2030 and 15,000MW in 2035.
The projects are the Baleh Hydroelectric Project (1,285 MW), which is to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2029; Samalaju Combined Cycle Power Plant (1,500 MW); and the andMiri Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (500 MW).
The Samalaju Combined Cycle Power Plant Blocks 1 and 2, with a combined capacity of 1,000MW, have achieved 58 per cent progress and are expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2027 while Block 3, with a capacity of 500MW, is scheduled for implementation in the first quarter of 2027.
The Miri Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine project has achieved 63 per cent physical progress and is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The ministry is also committed to implementing Large-Scale Solar (LSS) projects with a potential total capacity of 1,500 MW while other projects currently under study include the Cascading Power Sources (CPS), with a potential capacity of 3,000 MW; and Kuching Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP), with a potential capacity of 5,000 MW.
As for rural electricity coverage, Julaihi said that since 2018, the Sarawak Government has allocated RM2.7 billion under RMK-13 and alternative funding for the implementation of 218 Rural Electrification Projects (BELB).
“Of these, 192 projects, or 88.1 per cent, have been completed, benefiting nearly 60,000 households, while the remaining 26 projects are still under implementation.
“For 2026, RM40.5 million has been allocated to continue implementing rural electricity supply projects,” he said. – DayakDaily
