LANGKAWI: The federal government has agreed to fund an underground dam project in Langkawi, placing this popular tourism island as the first in the country to have such a facility.
Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the move would help to increase raw water resources for Langkawi while reducing dependency on treated water supply from Kedah mainland.
"What is the update on the plan to build an underground dam in Langkawi? Besides depending on water from the mainland, we need to increase raw water resources in the island.
"The underground dam construction by the federal government is our initiative to improve water resources in Langkawi," he said in a social media posting today.
The posting was accompanied by a 95-second video of his visit to the proposed underground dam site.
During the visit, Akmal was given a briefing by officials from the state-owned Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd (Sada) on the project, which is at the initial stage of development.
Akmal said that based on the briefing by Sada, the project will consist of the construction of a wall to contain water and a sand component that would act as a natural water filter.
He was told by Sada officials that the underground dam was more efficient and cheaper as compared to the Riverbank Water Containment Project (Taps) proposed earlier, which requires land acquisition.
"Initially, the plan was to build Taps, but due to cost constrain, the ministry has instructed for a review to look into other alternatives.
"It is considered fortunate because, coincidentally, we are building just one side (and) this is cheaper compared to Taps," he said.
Akmal added that the state government has agreed to the first such a project in the country and would be extending its cooperation to the federal government.
"It is not easy to convince the public; who could have imagined that there could be such an underground dam in Malaysia, (we) have never done it before.
"Although this is the federal government's project, we wish to seek cooperation from all parties, as once it is completed, the state will also benefit from the project," he said.
In April, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the state government, through the Kedah State Water Resources Board (LSANK) had approved the underground dam proposal mooted by the federal government in 2018.
He said the project, which will be modelled after underground dams commonly developed in Japanese islands, would help to meet the tourism island's long-term demand for treated water.
