RM120mil to upgrade undersea water pipeline to Redang Island, says exco chairman

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government intends to upgrade the existing 25-year-old undersea pipeline that supplies treated water to Redang Island as it is often suffers unscheduled water supply disruptions.

State Infrastructure, Public Facilities, Utilities and Green Technology Committee chairman Dr Mamad Puteh said an allocation of RM120mil was needed to carry out the repair work to replace the underwater pipeline along the 23km stretch.

"Residents often face unscheduled water supply disruption on the resort island as well as some consumers in the Setiu district.

"Every time there is a broken section, we lose almost 50% of our clean water supply and even have to incur high repair costs of RM70,000. Hence, we are trying to find an allocation of RM120mil as a long-term solution," he told reporters here on Saturday (May 7).

According to him, every time there was a case of a broken section along the pipeline, Syarikat Air Terengganu Sdn Bhd (Satu) had to reduce the pressure to prevent more water from coming out and wastage.

"This will cause users living in the areas to face water supply disruptions due to very low pressure. Broken sections are becoming more frequent and the latest was two weeks ago," he said.

Recently, Satu had to implement a scheduled water supply in several areas in four districts, namely Marang, Hulu Terengganu, Setiu and Besut to ensure consumers could celebrate Aidilfitri comfortably.

The supply was temporarily stopped from midnight to 4.30am to ensure the water supply during the day was not affected during the festive period. - Bernama