A total of RM935 million has been allocated to replace about 1,000 kilometres of pipes that are over 40 years old throughout Johor, says State Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh.
He said the work had commenced last year and was expected to be fully completed by the end of this year.
“The area most involved in this pipe replacement programme is Johor Bahru and we are focusing on locations that always experience problems including burst pipes, leaks, and blockages and receive many complaints because the pipes are too old.
“It is among the goals of the state government to ensure that old pipes, especially those underground, can be replaced with new ones, so that no water is wasted through pipe bursts and leakages,” he told reporters after observing the pipe replacement work at Jalan Tan Hiok Nee here, today.
He said the replacement programme involving about 1,000km of old pipes was 20 per cent of the works to replace 6,000km of old pipes scheduled to be carried out in stages.
According to him, the old pipes need to be replaced immediately as water concessionaire Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd received 6,000 to 7,000 complaints about leaking pipes every month of late.
“We will not directly change the old pipes because it will cause water supply disruptions to many account holders. We build the new pipes first, then change the old piping system to the new one so not too many people will be affected by water supply disruptions,” he said.
Mohamad Fazli was previously reported as saying that Johor has about 26,000km of main pipes, with 6,000km of them aged between 30 and 40 years that often experience damage, which affects the water supply to the surrounding residents
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
