KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — The government continues to focus on the development of rural areas to ensure no group is marginalised from mainstream development.
The finance ministry in its 2013/2014 Economic Report released here today, said in the 2013 Budget, RM4.5 billion was allocated for the development of rural infrastructure projects, of which RM1.2 billion was meant for building and upgrading rural and village-link roads.
“As of August 2013, RM896.2 million or 75.1 per cent of the allocation had been spent,” it said.
Meanwhile, the report said, RM1.6 billion or 36 per cent was allocated for the development of utility projects, such as water supply and power connectivity in rural areas.
“Under the Bekalan Elektrik Luar Bandar (BELB) project, RM961 million was allocated with 55.5 per cent spent, as of August 2013, providing 24-hour electricity supply to 19,811 rural houses.
“The remaining allocation of RM703 million was channelled to the “Bekalan Air Luar Bandar (BALB)” project to provide clean and treated water supply to rural areas.”
It said as of August 2013, about 78 per cent had been disbursed, benefiting 24,000 rural houses.
The government also allocated RM88.5 million for economic development programmes and water supply projects for the orang asli community.
As of August 2013, RM17.3 million has been spent on various programmes, including water treatment, public amenities, telecentres and hands-on training.
In addition, RM100 million was spent for the supply of 40,000 water tanks to harvest rainwater, particularly in rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak.
For Sabah, the distribution of 20,000 water tanks to 36 districts was completed in July 2013, while in Sarawak, the rest of the water tanks were distributed to residents in 34 districts, a month earlier. — Bernama
