KUALA LUMPUR: Penang is working on options to resolve its water shortage issue, including paying more for supply from Perak, says its Chief Minister.

       Chow Kon Yeow said the state government is prepared to pay its northern neighbour up to 20 or 30 sen per 1,000 litres of water, adding that Selangor is only paying 10 sen to Pahang for the same quantity.

       “We actually have excess treatment capacity, so there is no issue with this.

       “The problem is availability of raw water,” he told senior media editors at a Concorde Club forum held here yesterday.

       Chow said while the state had a long-term contingency plan to address the issue, one way to overcome the problem in the interim is to pay more for water supplied by other states.

       “If we have to pay more, then the consumer will have to foot the bill in the end,” he said, adding that the private sector is also welcomed to make proposals under a Private Finance Initiative.

       Chow said a Singapore-style solution, involving the desalination of seawater, is among the water restructuring options which the state could consider in the future.

       Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad recently said the state was not able to supply water to Penang as it was also faced with a shortage.

       Chow also briefed the editors of the progress achieved by Penang since he took over the state administration in 2018.

       He said that workers are being paid higher salaries now, with some companies paying fresh graduates monthly salaries of up to RM4,000.

       The Concorde Club forum is a monthly discussion on current topics by selected speakers initiated by veteran journalists.