LANGKAWI: The Kedah government, via state-owned water concessionaire Syarikat Air Darul Aman Sdn Bhd (Sada), must act swiftly to decide on works to repair leakages on the submerged treated water supply pipeline linking the mainland to Langkawi island.
Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the delay in making the decision risks worsening the water supply crisis on the tourism island.
"We don't have time to delay this matter further. The longer the submerged water pipeline leakages are not fixed, the more worrying the situation becomes in Langkawi.
"Based on the options that we have explored and deliberated, a decision must be made as soon as possible," he said in a status update on his Facebook account yesterday.
The posting was accompanied by a 64-second video of the deputy minister in Langkawi visiting a water treatment plant (WTP) operated by Sada.
Akmal attended a briefing by Sada officials on the prolonged treated water supply disruptions on the island, which are causing concern among locals and visitors.
In the video, Sada officials informed Akmal that the water supply shortage in Langkawi is caused by leakages in the submerged pipeline, forcing the concessionaire to treat raw water from Bukit Malut Dam to meet the island's demand.
However, Akmal stressed that the issue should not have been allowed to prolong and could have been resolved by swift action by Sada to decide on the repair works.
"It is true that 32 million liters per day (MLD) from the total 62 MLD pumped from the mainland is not reaching the island.
"Many people are complaining. I came down here to give hope that the ministry is committed to assisting. Seriously, we want to help, but Sada must make the decision quickly," he said in the video.
On April 17, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the consultant appointed to carry out an integrity survey on the submerged water pipeline was expected to submit the report to the state government soon.
He was reported as saying that the assessment was done on the thickness of the pipeline to decide whether it is still suitable for repair works by installing clamps to plug the leakages.
Sanusi had said the state government was not ruling out the possibility that the pipeline is beyond repair, as there are 23 leaking spots, and some stretches of the 7km pipeline have the most leak spots.
He added that the state government would discuss the findings with the ministry to determine the next course of action.
The current repair work on the leaked pipeline is being funded by a RM50 million loan obtained from the federal government.