KUCHING: The merging of all water agencies under one entity in Sarawak will be finalised by this year.

According to Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, the state government has now established an Integrated Management Office (IMO) to handle administrative work related to the consolidation of all major water agencies across Sarawak.

“This new entity will be similar to our ports in the state where they are merged into one entity. InsyaAllah, the merge will be done by this year,” he said.

He said this during a press conference after chairing Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB) 6th Supreme Council Meeting at PBB headquarters here Saturday.

Meanwhile, commenting on the economic progress of the state, he stated that the emphasis on renewable energy has given strength to Sarawak economically.

Taking Batang Ai as an example, he pointed out that the water body of the area is 8,500 hectares and it generates 108 megawatt of power.

“But when we install a floating solar which only uses 86 hectares of the water body, it can generate 50 megawatt of power which means that if we were to install 60 per cent of the total water body there, it’ll be able to generate 2,000 megawatt. And this is only Batang Ai, and we haven’t included the others.

“This is the potential we have which exceeds our expectations. We have the needed energy capacity and this will be one of the things that will attract investors to come to Sarawak.

“InsyaAllah with all these, our economy will continue to grow in the future,” he said.