Kedah water plant upgrades get 2nd deadline extension to April 2025

PARLIAMENT | Upgrading works on the Bukit Selambau Water Treatment Plant in Kedah are now targeted to be completed next April, a delay of over a year from the original deadline.

Energy Transition and Water Transformation Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the new April 16, 2025, deadline was the second extension of time (EOT) given to the project.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat during Question Time today, he also said the new deadline was granted by the Kedah state secretary as the officer in charge of overseeing the project.

“That is the new date given, a 292-day EOT (from the previous deadline) or close to 10 months,” he said.

Akmal revealed that he visited the project’s construction site at Kuala Muda with ministry officials on June 24.

He found out that, under the project’s schedule, the completion rate as of June 15 was 27.03 percent.

“We raised our concerns because the progress is still far from 100 percent completion,” he added.

It was reported in May 2021 that the Kedah state government granted Widad Builders Sdn Bhd a RM129.4 million contract to upgrade the water treatment plant.

The contract period was stipulated to be 130 weeks commencing from June 6, 2021, to Dec 2, 2023.

Earlier this year, Akmal criticised the Kedah government over the delay, saying the federal government had to step in as it footed the RM129 million bill for the project.

In response, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the rising cost of materials by 40 to 70 percent was the reason behind the delay.

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