Hussain (white cap) briefing Phee (white shirt, next to him) and other visitors on the upgraded sewage treatment plant in Bukit Mertajam.
THE sewage treatment plant in Bukit Mertajam in Penang is now equipped with the latest facilities to improve standards and sustainability.
The plant caters to 150,000 people in the surrounding area.
Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) northern regional operation head Hussain Omar said the RM125mil plant, which was upgraded in 2009, would treat wastewater produced by Kota Permai, Sungai Rambai, Bukit Tengah and Alma.
“There is also a possibility of future extension to cater for 873,000 population equivalent (PE),” he said during a recent stakeholders’ visit to the sewage treatment plant.
“IWK is also assisting the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to undertake rationalisation exercises where bigger and modern sewage plants will be built to replace smaller plants to cater to a bigger customer base.”
Hussain said the reduction in the number of sewage treatment plants would be a cost-effective move and lead to more efficient management in the sewerage industry.
The plant has a centralised sludge tanker that receives sludge from areas throughout Seberang Prai, catering up to 300,000 PE.
The sewage facility operation was taken over by IWK in 1996 from the Seberang Prai Municipal Council.
The facility was then equipped with the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system and was changed from a non-mechanised plant using an oxidation pond to a fully-mechanised plant with an oxidation ditch.
Also visiting the plant were state Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim.
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