Contractor needs to speed up Kogopan LRA upgrade - Armizan

PENAMPANG - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali wants the contractor appointed to upgrade the Kogopon Water Treatment Plant (LRA) Phase Two to speed up the project, to resolve water supply issues in the southern part of Greater Kota Kinabalu.

The southern part of Greater Kota Kinabalu includes Putatan, Papar and Kimanis.

Armizan, who is also the Member of Parliament for Papar, said that the procurement process for the project was conducted three weeks ago, and the contractor had also been appointed to carry out the work of upgrading the plant, which was expected to take three years to complete.

"Once (the contract) is awarded, we expect the project to be implemented immediately and completed according to schedule. I understand that the contractor has already entered the LRA area to do preliminary work.

"I was also informed that the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) will go down to the Kogopon LRA at the end of this month, to see the area and hear briefings from the contractor and the Sabah Water Department.

"This is an important visit to ensure that the awarded project is implemented according to schedule. I also hope that the pre-implementation, coordination and land issues will be resolved, so that the project can start immediately,” he told reporters here today.

Armizan said that the Kogopon LRA Phase Two upgrade project, among other things, involves increasing capacity from 40 million litres per day (MLD) to 80 MLD, which has been delayed for a long time, and its implementation needed to be expedited to address water supply disruptions which often plague residents, including around Papar.

However, there is a short-term approach implemented as an alternative, to address the issue in Papar, including installing static tanks in several village areas, apart from the proposal to install tube wells in areas to be identified in collaboration with the Department of Minerals and Geosciences, he said. - BERNAMA