Plans for a $455m, 37.5km water supply tunnel near Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur will be finalised by the end of this year.
The scheme has been delayed while the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Malaysian prime minister’s depart-ment decides which government agency will be responsible for the scheme’s maintenance once it is completed in 2004.
Works minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu says the EPU is close to making a decision after assessing various proposals. Once the decision is made, the Works Ministry will invite tenders and supervise construction. He says the scheme will cost between $455m-$530m. Finance is being provided as part of a $1.7bn rescue package put together by Western nations and Japan at the height of the Asian economic crisis.
The project involves a tunnel system from Sungai Kelimong in Pahang State to Sungai Gombak, Sungai Semenyih and Sungai Langat in the Klang Valley in Selangor State The government is keen to have the tunnel completed by 2004, when Malaysia is expected to face a severe water shortage.
Works chief Vellu says that even though the scheme will go ahead, Malaysia, especially the capital, still faces water supply problems.
This scheme is expected to be the first of several more that will connect rivers between Pahang and the Klang Valley with the aim of creating an interconnected water network.
The government is already accelerating work on the Sungai Selangor Dam project to avoid a major water crisis.
