THE Penang government will only take back the expanded Mengkuang Dam from the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources (KATS) after all defects have been rectified.
Penang Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the ministry had agreed to ‘fix everything’ before handing over the project to the state.
“We do not accept a defective product,” he told a press conference after delivering his winding up speech at the state legislative assembly today.
Zairil said one of the Mengkuang Dam pump house, the Mak Sulong pump house, was not working.
“How can we fill the Mengkuang Dam when the Mak Sulong pump house does not work?
“The Mak Sulong pump house is designed to pump water from Sungai Kulim to fill the dam.
“Unlike the Teluk Bahang Dam and the Air Itam Dam, the Mengkuang Dam is not a water catchment area.
“We have to pump water from the rivers. We have to draw water from Sungai Kulim and Sungai Muda,” he said.
In his winding up speech, Zairil said the ‘draw off tower’ of the Mak Sulong pump house was defective.
He stressed that the state government was not to be blamed for the delay in taking back the Mengkuang Dam.
“The state government handed over the dam to the ministry (formerly KeTTHA) for the expansion project which started on Aug 1, 2011.
“The expansion project was supposed to complete in July 2016 but it was only completed in April last year.
“The Mak Sulong pump house was supposed to be commissioned in April this year, but obviously it is not working,” he said, adding that it would take two months to repair the draw off tower.
Zairil said the ‘hands on training’ and ‘testing’ process would be conducted after the pump is repaired.
“They have to run the pump for 30 days, and the process will be monitored and supervised by the state government and the relevant authorities.
“The process of filling up the dam will only proceed if the pump continue to work after 30 days.
“It will take a few years for the dam to be operational,” he said.
Zairil said a few landslides had occurred at the dam site.
“The contractor needs to install slope reinforcement and slope protection at the site.
“We have identified the problems and have given them to the ministry. It is their responsibility to fix them,” he added.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis