Selangor state’s water management agency, Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd or Air Selangor said it will allocate RM35 billion in its business plan to provide the best service to more than nine million users. Acting Chief Executive Officer Ir Abas Abdullah said the plan which takes between 5 to 50 years includes the development of new water sources such as the Rasau and Langat Dua water supply schemes, pipe replacement, pipe meter conversion, and pump house improvements.
“This is a big expense and in 2023 we are focusing on this water plant which involves an expenditure of RM12 billion, pipe replacement is allocated RM150 million every year, RM45 million for changing water meters, and RM15 million for pump houses and water ponds,” he said. Abas said the company has thus far replaced old or obsolete pipes along 624 kilometers (km) with 552 km of the pipes already activated involving 262 critical locations. “There are 30,000 km of pipes of which 6,000 are obsolete pipes installed since the 1970s and we have not used these pipes since the 1990s. “55 percent of broken pipes are from these old pipes and to overcome this problem, Air Selangor has replaced these old pipes with 150 km of these pipes replaced every year,” he said.
Adding that Air Selangor will allocate RM2.97 billion for the improvement of the water supply system including pipe replacement, new plant construction, water pool repairs, asset, and equipment maintenance. According to him, the results of the improvements made, in addition to the large financial allocation, had a positive impact on the largest water service provider company. “Every year we conduct a customer satisfaction index study and in 2022, it recorded an increase compared to 2021.
However, the changes are not immediate as noticed recently with a series of water disruptions latest being in Klang and Shah Alam, whereby 55 areas were affected.
