MELAKA: Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd (SAMB) has asked the state government to clarify on the status of the RM300 million Off River Storage (ORS) project.
SAMB chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Khalid Nasir, said the company had yet to receive any update on the project since Pakatan Harapan took over the state administration after the 14th General Election.
“We are still waiting (to learn about) the new directions and policies of the Water, Land and Natural Resources.
“We hope the project (will be continued). Melaka could face clean water shortage in 2020 because the volume of water source equates the size of future customer demand,” he said when met at the Malaysia Skill Certificate-Past Achievement Recognition (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia-Pengiktirafan Pencapaian Terdahulu or SKM-PPT) for Southern Zone programme at Wisma Air today.
Mohd Khalid said the project was crucial in ensuring daily clean water supply of up to 30 million litres by 2020.
“The state agency, Water Regulatory Body (BKSA), has been urged to explain the status of this project,” he said.
In February, former chief minister, Datuk Seri Idris Haron, had announced an allocation from the Federal Government for the state’s long-term project in ensuring a steady clean water supply for residents.
SAMB had been instructed by the state government to carry out a study with the focus placed on areas that were included in the proposed Sungai Jerneh Dam project, namely, Masjid Tanah, Kuala Linggi and Lubuk China.
Once completed, ORS was reported to function both as flood mitigation and storage systems, hence reducing dependency ratio on Sungai Muar from 160 to 77 million litres daily.
Also present were Human Resources Skills Development Department assistant director, Mohamad Faris Jamaludin and Malaysia Water Association’s (MWA) training division director, Dr Hapidah Mohamad.
