CEO Datuk K. Pathmanathan said the projects, to be implemented under the Water Contingency Plan 2030, include the construction of new water treatment plants, upgrades to existing facilities, land acquisition and major pipeline works.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Water Supply Corporation (PWSC) said it needs an estimated RM2.1 billion to complete critical water supply projects by 2030, defending the state’s recent water tariff increase as necessary to secure Penang’s future water needs.
Its CEO Datuk K. Pathmanathan said the projects, to be implemented under the Water Contingency Plan 2030, include the construction of new water treatment plants, upgrades to existing facilities, land acquisition and major pipeline works.
He said the projects could not be delayed as Penang’s daily water demand is projected to increase from 865 million litres per day in 2025 to at least 1,162 million litres per day by 2032, driven by industrial expansion, new residential developments and landmark projects such as Batu Kawan Industrial Park 3 and Silicon Island.
“Any further delay would be irresponsible because it would incur an unacceptably high risk of a water shortage in Penang on or before 2030,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The revised water tariffs took effect on July 1, a year after the Penang government deferred their implementation.
The corporation said about 82% of households would pay no more than an additional RM2.55 a month under the revised rates, while businesses consuming 500m³ of water monthly would pay an additional RM77.70.
Pathmanathan said the revised tariffs were expected to generate an additional RM20 million in profits in the second half of the year.
He said PBA Holdings Bhd, a Penang state government-linked company in which the state holds a 55% majority stake, had allocated about 87% of its RM114.5 million profit after tax for 2025 as capital expenditure for water supply projects in Penang.
“Accordingly, the primary beneficiaries of PBAHB’s 2025 profit after tax are, in fact, the 721,066 registered water consumers in Penang,” he said.
Pathmanathan said PWSC’s annual profits alone were insufficient to finance the estimated RM2.1 billion needed to complete the remaining six Water Contingency Plan 2030 projects, making both the tariff revision and the utility’s RM5 billion sukuk programme necessary.
He added that total projected investment for the six remaining projects, scheduled for completion in 2032, was about RM2.1 billion.
Pathmanathan also urged the public not to be misled by claims that PWSC could delay the tariff increase or rely solely on federal grants and loans to finance water supply projects.
“If such claims were true, the federal government would not have gazetted new water rates for 10 states in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan on July 30, 2025. It could have provided grants and loans for all water projects in all the states instead.”
