KOTA BHARU: The Kelantan government expects that the presence of 58 water treatment plants (WTPs) by 2028 will solve the water supply problem throughout the state.
Kelantan Works, Infrastructure, Water and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Dr Izani Husin said that currently there are only 43 WTPs throughout the state and are not able to meet the overall needs of the people of Kelantan.
He said the state government has taken note of the water supply for the people of Kelantan and to solve this problem, the government is expecting the increase in WTPs will be sufficient by 2028.
“In addition, 11 more WTPs that will be completed later will also be equipped to clean out sludge,“ he said.
He said this when replying to a question by Kamaruzaman Mohamad (PAS-Gual Periok) on the progress of the process of repairing the clean water source of Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd for the Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas area at the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly sitting in Kota Darulnaim, today.
He said that for the area in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, the government is also working on the construction of Kelar 2 WTP in the Pasir Mas district which is expected to be completed in 2028 with a capacity of 2.5 million litres per day compared to the current supply of only 1.35 million litres per day.
“So far, it has been approved but when the tender came out it exceeded what was set. Therefore, we expect the tender to be completed in December,“ he said.
Meanwhile, when answering a supplementary question from Mohamad Nasriff Daud (PAS-Pengkalan Pasir) on whether the state government would place water tankers in areas affected by water supply while the plants were being built, Izani, who is also the Kijang state assemblyman, said that the action would be detrimental to the state government.
“The water supply delivered by tanker is provided free of charge, but it is borne by the state government. If it continues, it will be a loss to the state government. However, we will monitor the situation from time to time.
“In fact, in the recent Kelantan 2025 budget presentation, we have also requested an allocation of RM2 million from the federal government to build tube wells for remote areas including in Rantau Panjang as a short-term measure while waiting for the WTP to be completed,“ he said.
