SITE VISIT: Uggah (fourth from left) inspects the project site in Pulau Bruit with others.
PULAU BRUIT, DARO: The government is very confident that the rural water supply project being implemented here will solve the water problem faced by some 9,300 residents in 13 villages once and for all.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said although there was a delay in the project due to land and manpower shortages, the government was monitoring it.
“We are here today to see the problems on the ground.
“We have decided that the land issue is to be resolved by the end of this month so the contractors can start their work in December to build a water reservoir.
“The water reticulation is scheduled to begin at the end of next month whereby its source is from Sarikei through a submarine pipe that is built earlier,” he told reporters after attending a briefing by Public Works Department (PWD) on the progress of the rural water supply project.
The briefing was held at Kampung Betanak community hall yesterday.
Uggah, who is Betong MP, was accompanied by officers from the Implementation and Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department and Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.
According to him, almost 98 per cent of the ministry’s projects are progressing well except for a few water supply projects including that to Pulau Bruit which is expected to be completed by middle of next year.
The project in Pulau Bruit costs RM54.5 million and its scope include the building of a 44-kilometre water pipe, a 14km water reticulation system, a booster station with 2.4 million litres capacity and two high level tanks with 0.5 and 1.6 million litres capacity.
“We hope the project in Pulau Bruit will go on smoothly. That is why we go down to see what is happening,” he said.
He added he was not contented with the briefing on the projects in Kuala Lumpur.
“This way, we hope the issues will be resolved and Barisan Nasional (BN) government will be able to deliver projects promised to the people,” he said.