GEORGE TOWN, June 5 — The implementation of the new water tariff in Penang, scheduled to take effect on July 1, cannot be postponed as it is crucial to ensure that various development and infrastructure upgrading projects can be carried out to safeguard the sustainability of future water supply.
State Transport, Infrastructure and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the profits currently recorded by the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) are insufficient to finance the large-scale projects planned to meet rising water demand.
“Among the projects currently being implemented or planned are the construction of the Mengkuang Water Treatment Plant (LRA), which is now under construction, two new LRAs in Sungai Krian with capacities of 80 million litres per day (MLD) and 114 MLD, raw water abstraction projects in Sungai Prai and Sungai Muda, as well as the replacement of ageing pipelines.
“Each water treatment plant requires investments amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit. All these projects require substantial funding and cannot be delayed, as they are essential to ensuring future water security,” he said at a press conference at Komtar today.
He was commenting on calls by several parties for the state government to defer the implementation of the new water tariff and provide a transparent explanation of the utility company’s financial position, administrative expenditure and future development plans.
Zairil added that one of the factors contributing to delays in the development of water supply infrastructure in the past was the excessively low tariff rate, which had limited PBAPP’s ability to invest in new facilities.
“If tariffs are too low, the revenue generated is insufficient to fund infrastructure investments. That is why we need to strengthen PBAPP’s financial resources to ensure that all planned projects can be implemented according to schedule,” he said.
At the same time, he stressed that PBAPP and the state government have taken into account the interests of domestic consumers, particularly low-volume water users, by ensuring that tariff increases for households consuming less than 35,000 litres of water per month remain manageable.
Yesterday, the state government announced that Penang would implement new water tariff rates for domestic and non-domestic consumers from July 1, after the adjustment had been deferred for 12 months.
The revision will affect 82 per cent of domestic consumers, or households using 35 cubic metres of water or less per month, with an increase of 8.5 sen, or RM2.55 per month. — Bernama
