Water, electricity supply disruptions in Labuan start to ease, says Dr Zaliha

LABUAN: Complaints regarding water supply disruptions on the duty-free island have decreased by 36% over the first four months of this year, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said.

However, continuous improvements are necessary to ensure the people of Labuan continue to enjoy basic amenities, she said.

She said as a short-term alternative, in the first quarter of this year, the Federal Government distributed 1,000 water tanks to 1,000 households that often face water supply disruptions.

“I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) for approving an allocation of RM300mil last year to address the water supply issue in Labuan.

Dr Zaliha said water supply management in Labuan has been disrupted, partly due to 64% of the existing pipes being worn out and over 30-years-old.

“As such, the main issues given attention by the government are the rehabilitation of ageing assets, provision of water storage systems and ensuring raw water sources are sufficient for the use of the Labuan people,” she said.

She said on the issue of electricity supply, on average, Labuan requires an electrical capacity of 55 to 80 megawatts per day.

“Alhamdulillah, two solar farms have been completed to further boost electrical supply capacity in Labuan, namely the Tanjung Kubong Solar Farm with a capacity of 5MW and the Bukit Kalam Solar Farm with a capacity of 10MW.

“Based on surveys conducted, over the past four months, there has been a reduction in electricity supply disruptions by 5% compared to the same period last year,” she said.

Dr Zaliha said for long-term solutions, the prime minister has announced the construction of new power plants to replace existing ones in Patau-Patau with an electrical generation capacity of 100 to 130 megawatts. – Bernama