PAAB INVESTED RM22.4 BILLION IN NATIONAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE OVER 20 YEARS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) has invested RM22.436 billion in national water infrastructure development over the past 20 years, reflecting its long-term commitment to strengthening Malaysia’s water services ecosystem.

Its chairman, Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa, said the investment comprised capital expenditure funding for completed projects, ongoing initiatives, as well as future projects currently at the planning and design stages, involving key assets such as water treatment plants, reservoirs and pipeline networks across Peninsular Malaysia.

Jaseni said the scale and continuity of investment had become increasingly important, as climate change altered rainfall patterns and extended dry seasons, placing greater pressure on existing water storage systems.

bootstrap slideshow

He noted that traditionally, Malaysia’s dams were designed based on British engineering standards to store water for about 100 days, in line with earlier dry-season conditions.

“However, over the past decade, dry spells have extended to four, five or even six months. This means we can no longer rely on the old standards,” he said, adding that PAAB had been recommending to the state government a review of dam design criteria to increase water storage capacity to up to six months.

He said increasing storage capacity would allow more rainwater to be captured during the wet season, helping to reduce flood risks while ensuring sufficient reserves to withstand prolonged droughts.

However, Jaseni noted that while the approach was more practical for newly planned dams, certain existing dams could also be upgraded by increasing their height or storage volume, citing the Mengkuang Dam in Penang as an example where capacity enhancement had been implemented.

He said this when speaking to reporters during the PAAB Media Forum 2026 here today, organised in collaboration with the Malaysian Press Institute, which also marked the launch of PAAB’s 20th anniversary logo ahead of its anniversary celebration on May 5.

The forum was also attended by PAAB chief executive officer Zulkiflee Omar; MPI president Datuk Yong Soo Heong and 70 media and public relations practitioners.

PAAB, established in 2006 under the Water Services Industry Act, is a company wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) and plays a central role in financing and developing water infrastructure assets as part of the Federal Government’s water industry reform agenda.

Under the reform framework, authority over water supply has been transferred from participating state governments to the Federal Government, with PAAB leasing completed water assets to state water operators under long-term arrangements, while operators remain responsible for water treatment and distribution.

Looking ahead, Jaseni said the national water services industry required RM110 billion over a 50-year period to achieve long-term sustainability, as part of the National Water Services Industry Restructuring Agreement, covering the construction of new assets, as well as the upgrading and replacement of existing infrastructure.

He said PAAB’s mandate included facilitating access to long-term financing and easing the financial burden on water operators, many of which faced cash flow constraints due to high capital expenditure requirements.

According to him, these efforts are aligned with the industry’s transformation roadmap towards Full-Cost Recovery by 2050, which aims to ensure that water tariffs and operational structures are sufficient to sustainably fund operations, maintenance and future investments.

He added that PAAB would continue to focus on increasing treated water reserve margins, reducing non-revenue water losses and strengthening system resilience to support reliable and sustainable water services nationwide.

-- BERNAMA