KUCHING, Aug 6 — The first phase of the Tanjung Manis Water Supply (BATM) project to transfer 125 million litres of raw water a day (JLH) from Sungai Maaw, Sibu, through the river bank filtration (RBF) system through the raw water pump station to Tanjung Manis has fallen short of meeting its objectives.
According to the Auditor-General’s Report Series 1/2017, the audit exercise conducted between October 2017 and December 2017 found that the project did not achieve its target as it was not completed within the stipulated time and the contractor did not fulfil his responsibilities to complete the project according to the specifications in the contract.
It said that Phase 1 of BATM had three main components namely the development of raw water sources, a transfer system and a water treatment plant including a channelling system for treated water, to be implemented in eight packages from Nov 11, 2013 which should have been completed on November 10, 2015, at the original cost of RM848.40 million.
“Even though the second to eighth packages have been completed, the tests and certification could not be carried out due to the failure of the first package, resulting in the efficiency of packages two to eight not being assessed, and consequently resulting in the entire Phase 1 of the BATM Project operations failing, with no benefit to the Halal Hub aquaculture industry and the people in Tanjung Manis,” said the report which was tabled in Dewan Rakyat today.
“The management of the BATM Project did not achieve its optimum efficiency level as there were discrepancies in the job specifications in contract which did not follow the original design and no written approval from the Enforcement Officer for the new design from the contractor,” he said.
The report said this compromised the government’s objective of getting the best value from the RM902.70 million spent, including procurement of pipes worth RM12.02 million which exceeded the actual amount needed, leading to possible wastage.
The report said part of the 125 JLH was to be channelled to a water treatment plant with a capacity of 30 JLH, to be treated for the needs of the residents in the Tanjung Manis area, with the Sibu Water Board as the implementing agency for the Sarawak Utilities Ministry , and acting as the enforcement officer of the project.
It said that on July 25, 2013, the state government approved RM1.06 billion under the Tenth Malaysia Plan and the project would be financed through government bonds.
Phase 1 of the BATM projek was to supply raw water for the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub aquaculture industry started in November 2013 while Phase 2 had not yet started. — Bernama
