KUCHING, March 18: A joint coordination committee between the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) and the Sarawak government will be established to oversee the implementation of water-related programmes and projects in the State.

According to a press release, the matter was agreed upon in a meeting between the PETRA delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and PETRA Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof and the Sarawak government led by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.

Also present at the meeting was Sarawak’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian; Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi; State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki; Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali; PETRA secretary-general Dato Mad Zaidi Mohd Karli, the management and top officials of PETRA as well as senior officials of the State government.

Prior to that, Fadillah, who is also the Minister responsible for Sabah and Sarawak Affairs, chaired the coordination meeting for the Kuching City Flood Mitigation Plan (Rancangan Tebatan Banjir) project at the Sarawak Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

There, he was briefed on the design of the Kuching City RTB prior to its implementation so that the project’s benefits could be targeted to the community accurately and effectively.

Fadillah also went to Wisma Persekutuan Kuching to listen to a briefing on Sarawak projects by the Federal government’s project implementing agency in Sarawak.

“A total of 46 projects were approved under the water sector in Sarawak through PETRA, namely 33 extension projects and 13 new projects amounting to RM6.01 billion.

“The amount that has been approved for implementation in 2024 is as much as RM298 million.

“These approved projects include flood protection and coastal flooding, coastal erosion, estuary conservation, Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) plan studies, sewage treatment plant development, sludge treatment plant development, sewerage system development and upgrading of water treatment plants,” the statement read. — DayakDaily