The hardship faced by almost 100,000 residents of Labuan who were facing water supply problems all this while has now ended with the commencement of operations of Phase II of the Labuan Water Supply System, costing RM387 million in Pulau Enoe Saturday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who officially opened the water supply project, said the federal government understood the 'difficulties' faced by the people of Labuan due to the lack of water supply.
He said the project proved that the government truly gave priority to the welfare of the people as emphasised in the 1Malaysia concept.
"Previously, water supply in Labuan was inadequate, there were frequent disruptions and rationing. We can imagine the great difficulty faced by the people of Labuan, but all this becomes history with the implementation of Phase II of the Labuan water supply project beginning today.
"I feel that besides its declaration as a Federal island, this is probably one occasion that is most meaningful to the people of Labuan," he said.
Najib said there were many criteria that must be met in implementing development programmes but "as a government that is set up based on the support of the people, we must place these projects within the context of the philisohy 'people first'".
"This is the best criterion and there is nothing better than the water supply project in Labuan," he said.
He said the additional capacity of 38 million litres per day was an effort by the government to provide basic amenities in line with the current needs.
He said the current requirement for Pulau Labuan was around 57 million litres per day which was expected to rise to 70 million litres per day by the year 2020.
Najib said with the completion of the Phase II Labuan water supply project, the capacity would rise to 98 million litres per day.
He said that with the additional capacity together with efforts to get other sources of water, the water requirement for the people on the duty-free island up to the year 2030 would be met.- BERNAMA
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