WATER SUPPLY (Development of other sources)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Dr Ong Chit Chung asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Government will consider and develop other sources of water supply, besides Johor.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (BG Lee Hsien Loong): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government is committed to developing additional sources of water for Singapore's long-term needs. Our policy is to diversify our water supplies to the maximum extent possible. We presently depend on two sources:

Firstly, the reservoirs and catchment areas in Singapore itself, which we have developed to the maximum extent possible; and secondly, Johor, including Gunong Pulai and Pontian Reservoirs, Scudai River, Tebrau River and Johor River, where presently the Linggui Dam project is underway.

In addition to Singapore and Johor, we are actively seeking other sources of water to meet our growing requirements. Two main possibilities are Pahang and the Riau Province of Indonesia.

Pahang has abundant water resources. Its Chief Minister, Tan Sri Mohammed Khalil Yaakob, has said publicly that Pahang wants to sell water to Singapore. During his visit here in January, he said that the Malaysian Federal Government had given Pahang permission to go ahead with discussions on a water agreement with Singapore. Singapore has responded that we are serious about buying water from Pahang. We are ready to enter into negotiations with them, but only provided Pahang is also keen, as we do not want any unsuccessful negotiations to sour up our good relations.

In the case of Riau, we signed an agreement last year with Indonesia on Economic Cooperation in the Framework of the Development of the Riau Province. This Agreement includes a provision to cooperate in developing water resources for supply to Singapore. We are currently discussing a further formal agreement with Indonesia to establish the framework for joint water development projects in Riau province. The first project is likely to be in Pulau Bintan. A longer term possibility is to develop the water resources of mainland Riau, which is on the island of Sumatra.

Dr Ong Chit Chung (Bukit Batok): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how long it will take before water from either Pahang or Riau will be running in our taps and whether this will increase the price for local consumers.

BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, it depends on how quickly our negotiations with the Pahang State Government and with Indonesia can be concluded and then schemes will have to be designed and the engineering works will have to be done. Once that is done, we are ready to buy water from both Indonesia and Pahang. It is a matter of a few years.

Will it cost more? When we provide for water supply, we always need to provide not only for the amount which we are consuming now but also for our long-term plans, the infrastructure, so that as our economy expands and as our water needs go up, there will be enough water for all our requirements - for industry, commerce, homes, recreation. That inevitably is an expensive matter and the expenditures have to be made whether they are invested in the Johor River or Pahang River or in the rivers of Pulau Bintan.