The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 The Ingenieur Vol 57 January-March 2014 | Page 56

INGENIEUR

CORPORATE REPORT

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang

THE ROAD TO
CORPORATISATION,
PUBLIC LISTING
& BEYOND
By Ir. Jaseni Maidinsa,
CEO, PBA Holdings Bhd,
General Manager,
Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd
Often taken for granted, water is a necessity for
life, and water supply is a critical factor for the
development and evolution of every community.
The roots of water engineering in Penang can
be traced back to 1805, when the first simple aqueduct water supply system was established to
serve 10,000 people in George Town. At that time,
Penang was a British colony with a thriving port,
and this public utility system was the first of its
kind to be established in Malaysia.
The availability of public water supply helped
the state, and its people, to progress and prosper
as a centre for entrepot until 1969, when Penang’s
free port status was rescinded.
Following this setback, Penang turned to
industrialisation as its primary economic engine
in the 1970s. Industrialisation marked the
beginning of a new, and highly successful, chapter
in Penang’s history, and transformed its socioeconomic landscape.
Driven by rapid developments in the
manufacturing sector, as well as related growth
in the tourism, services and logistics sectors,
Penang further consolidated its position as the
most progressive state in the northern region
of Peninsular Malaysia, with a highly diverse
population in terms of culture, ethnicity and
religion.
However, there is a price to pay for such
progress and prosperity – due to its small size and
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VOL 57 JANUARY-MARCH 2014
VOL 55 JUNE 2013

geographic
limitations,
combined with
population
growth
and
escalating
industrial
water demand,
P e n a n g
inevitably
b e c a m e
a
waterstressed
state.
Water
consumption
shot
up
by
275%
in 25 years, from 52,120,428m3 in 1973 to
195,668,297m3 in 1998. With catchments
totalling only 6% of its total land area of 1,031 sq
km, Penang needed an organisation to effectively
manage its water supply in the 21st Century.
In 1999, Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau
Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP - the Penang Water Supply
Corporation Pte Ltd) was incorporated to fulfil this
need. The corporatisation of PBAPP heralded the
beginning of a new era for sustainable, innovative
and professional water supply management in
Penang.