Johor's Sultan Ibrahim visits Gunung Pulai reservoir and water treatment plant

Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar visited the Sultan Ibrahim reservoir and water treatment plant, north of Johor Baru, on Nov 11, 2017. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SULTAN IBRAHIM SULTAN ISKANDAR

PULAI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the Johor ruler, made a surprise visit on Saturday (11 November) to a reservoir and water treatment plant in Gunung Pulai.

Built in 1924, the Sultan Ibrahim reservoir and water treatment plant is located just north of Johor Baru.

"Tuanku Sultan did a walk-about of the area to inspect the cleanliness and proper upkeep of the 94-year-old facility," according to a statement posted on his Facebook page on Sunday issued by the state's Royal Press Office.

"He was also given an unscheduled on-site briefing by SAJ Ranhill Sdn Bhd president Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad," read the statement.

SAJ Ranhill is Johor state's water supply company.

Spread over 52.6ha in the district of Kulai, the reservoir and plant can hold up to 1,220 million gallons, the statement said.

It added that the facility was built during the reign on the late Sultan Ibrahim, the great-grandfather of the current Sultan Ibrahim.

Singapore handed the Gunung Pulai reservoir and plant to Johor in 2011 at the expiry of the 1961 water agreement.

Under the 1962 water agreement with Malaysia, Singapore can draw water from Johor River with water agency PUB maintaining the Johor River Water Works and Linggiu Reservoir .

The issue of Johor's water supply grabbed headlines two weeks ago when the state government had to temporarily shut treatment plants along Johor River due to ammonia pollution caused by a poultry farm and factory in the Kota Tinggi district.

The illegal chicken farm and factory have since been shut down.

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