JANS lays infrastructural blueprint for Sabah's growing economy

As Malaysia moves towards developed economy status by 2020, population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and climate change continue to strain one of the country's most vital natural resources - water.

In line with government initiatives to guarantee the safety and availability of water resources, Sabah State Water Department, or locally known as Jabatan Air Negeri Sabah (JANS), is actively taking steps to supply adequate water for the population of Sabah. A local government agency under the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, JANS contributes to the infrastructural support needed to boost the local state economy.

"Our main objective is to fully organise and modernise the water supply system to provide full water coverage as efficiently as possible for the whole state," says Awang Tahir bin Mohd. Talib, director.

JANS was officially formed in 1988. It operates 78 water treatment plants throughout Sabah - pumping out 1.23 billion litres of water daily to meet the demands of more than 340,000 active water consumer accounts.

The agency has successfully extended its water coverage to 99.8 per cent in urban areas, and is working towards improving its rural water coverage, which presently stands at 69 per cent.

JANS plans to apply information technology to develop an efficient water supply system and welcomes research and development partnerships.