KOTA KINABALU – Six tube wells will be built to overcome water supply problems at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) using the RM3 million announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in May last year.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the construction of four of the tube wells was being carried out by two contractors.
The four tube wells were now in the drilling phase, he said, adding that geologists were now looking for suitable sites to build the other two tube wells.
He said this to reporters after a briefing on the water supply issue at UMS by the university’s development and maintenance department today, which was also attended by UMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Kasim Md Mansor.
Mustapha said efforts would be made to ensure the implementation of the tube-well project ran smoothly, and that he would request a weekly report on the project’s progress.
“This water issue has become our main agenda and it has received the attention of the prime minister and the higher education minister.
“Therefore we need to take a serious look at this matter so that it can be completed within the stipulated period,” he said.
According to Mustapha, the construction of the six tube wells is only a short-term solution and it is only capable of channelling an additional one million litres of water supply a day.
“There are about 20,000 water users in UMS who need at least five million litres of water supply a day,” he said.
He said the Sabah Water Department would have to look into the long-term solution to the problem.
On Tuesday, the prime minister was reported to have instructed the relevant party to submit a report regarding the ongoing water supply problem at the university, despite the government having approved RM3 million last year to overcome the problem.
On Wednesday, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya was reported to have said that the matter was expected to be resolved through Phase 2 of upgrading works at the Telibong water treatment plant.
The project is in the final piping work stage and is scheduled to be ready at the end of the month. – January 13, 2024