Sabah water department aims to reduce NRW rate to 54 pct this year

KOTA KINABALU - The Sabah Water Department (Jans) aims to reduce the state’s non-revenue water (NRW) rate to 54 per cent by the end of this year, the State Legislative Assembly sitting was told today.

Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said that the state’s NRW rate was 56.7 per cent as of yesterday.

"The NRW rate reduction programme is carried out, among other things, through the statewide installation of smart meters, the upgrading and replacement of the water distribution system, as well as the construction and upgrading of water pumps and generators to increase the efficiency of treated water supply,” he said.

He said this when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks on Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin’s address here today.

Shahelmey, who is also State Works Minister said Jans had collected RM108.1 million in water bill payments as of yesterday, which was only 36 per cent of the RM300 million target set for this year.

Shahelmy said that in order to solve the issue of treated water supply in Sabah, the state government has prioritised the implementation of 20 projects totaling RM12 billion to improve the state’s water production system.

In the meantime, he said the electricity consumption rate in Sabah currently reaches a maximum level of 1,080 MW, compared to 1,032 MW recorded in the same period last year, and that the demand is expected to increase, adding to the pressure on the state’s electricity supply system.

"The supply is indeed insufficient...in normal conditions the demand is around 800 MW to 900 MW but since the hot weather this demand has increased dramatically,” he said.

He said electricity rationing was implemented as a short-term measure to provide stability to the electricity grid system, in addition to increasing electricity generation capacity, which included obtaining additional power, building hydroelectric stations, and developing independent power producers (IPP).

Meanwhile, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew when winding up the debate involving her ministry said as of February, Sabah received 366,980 tourists, compared to 200,040 for the same period in the previous year.

"The 83.5 per cent increase in arrivals demonstrates the positive development of Sabah's tourism sector, in fact, we currently record 396 flights per week from within the country and 93 flights per week from abroad,” she said.

In addition, she said that Sabah will have direct flights from major cities in China, namely three times a week from Guangzhou beginning June 1, three times a week from Beijing beginning July 2, and four times a week from Macau beginning July 16. - BERNAMA