ISKANDAR PUTERI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Johor has welcomed Singapore's decision to supply additional potable water to the state, its chief minister said.

Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the gesture by the island republic shows its goodwill gesture to help its neighbour during the dry spell that has hit Johor quite hard.

"However, the state government is giving focus to rectifying water woes, and we are in discussions with several agencies on the matter," The Star reported him as saying on Tuesday (June 7).

Mohamed Khaled was asked to comment on the decision by Singapore's national water agency, the Public Utility Board (PUB), to supply an additional six million gallons of water per day for a month to Johor.

This comes after the water regulatory body Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (BAKAJ) requested the aid due to the current dry weather that has affected the water level at the Sungai Layang dam.

Over the years PUB has been supplying 16 million gallons of potable water to Johor daily, the New Straits Times said.

BAKAJ had also requested Singapore to supply extra drinking water between Aug 14 last year to Jan 8 this year, NST said.