GEORGE TOWN, March 7 – Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) is implementing the Raw Water Contingency Plan 2030 (RWCP 2030) projects to ensure water supply security for Penang. The details of these 5 water supply engineering projects are as follows:
In summary, PBAPP plans to complete 2 upgrading projects at Penang’s award-winning Sungai Dua Water Treatment Plant; build 2 new water treatment plants near the Mengkuang Dam and Sungai Muda; and start tapping Sungai Perai as an additional raw water resource for Penang.
These 5 projects are the key components of PBAPP’s RWCP 2030 and will yield 569 MLD, thus increasing the maximum design capacity from the current 1,599 MLD to 2,168 MLD. In 2021, Penang’s water consumption was 860 million litres per day (MLD). Projections from an independent water study completed in 2021 indicate that Penang’s water demand may be driven by socioeconomic factors to increase by 78.1% (672 MLD) and reach 1,532 MLD by 2030.
As such, it will help to ensure that Penang has a healthy “reserve margin” and avoid a water crisis until 2030. On 1.3.2022, a Penang State Government delegation led by Chief Minister YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow met with a Perak State Government delegation headed by Menteri Besar YAB Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamed to discuss the Sungai Perak Raw Water Transfer Scheme (SPRWTS).
At the meeting, YAB Tuan Chow tabled a conditional offer for Penang to buy raw water from Perak. Penang’s objective was to secure a deal for the SPRWTS, after which an official agreement could be signed later this year. An agreement would provide the necessary impetus for the Federal Government to commence works on the SPRWTS in 2023 (after detailed engineering studies are conducted) and commission the scheme to deliver raw water to Penang by 2030.
However, the Perak delegation’s agenda was different. At the meeting, they took the opportunity to point out that Perak may not have excess raw water to sell to Penang. The meeting ended with both parties agreeing to wait for the outcome of the Final Report of the KASA engineering study which is expected to be completed in April 2022.
PBAPP has planned ahead to help Penang to overcome potential scenarios such as this latest SPRWTS scenario. In 2019, PBAPP proposed the Penang Water Supply Initiative 2050 (PWSI 2050) to the Penang State Government as a water supply engineering roadmap to ensure water supply security for Penang until 2050.
The PWSI 2050 has been revised several times to address scenarios wherein the SPRWTS is further delayed and/or cannot be implemented by 2030. In the face of these scenarios, PBAPP proposed the commissioning of desalination plants to meet Penang’s projected raw water demand.
Looking ahead, the commissioning of desalination plants in Penang may implemented in phases, beginning from 2030. As an island state surrounded by sea, Penang may utilise desalination technology (like Singapore) to theoretically tap an unlimited amount of raw water for the future.
It should be borne in mind that water supply is an essential public service that affects the daily lives of 1.776 million people in Penang, as well as the operations of thousands of businesses.
In summary: Penang is implementing the RWCP 2030 to ensure water supply security until 2030. In view of the latest SPRWTS scenario, PBAPP is recommending desalination of the sea water in Penang to meet future raw water supply demands beyond 2030.
