Watering hole

Some news from Malaysia. This is great news for the people of Selangor. Then you have to believe what Minister Minister Lim Keng Yaik says about the find of an underwater cavern. A politician or government official would never lie in order to prevent a public panic, right?(Cue the sarcastic laughter)

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Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia has discovered an underground water basin as big as Singapore, dismissing fears that its most densely populated state Selangor will run out of water in three years, a government minister said.

The water cavern was found in Batang Padang area in northern Perak state, which can be tapped in the next two years, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Selangor, on the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, is facing a critical water supply situation, state-owned Bernama news agency reported in January, citing a study. To address the issue, the government planned to call an international tender next month for a 3 billion ringgit ($858 million) project to transfer water from eastern Pahang state to Selangor.

``We have found a huge amount of underground water in Batang Padang, a huge underground cavern, it is as big as the size of Singapore,'' Lim said. ``There won't be a water shortage'' in Selangor, he said.

The government also plans to build a water-treatment plant in a related, 2 billion ringgit project, he said. Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd., Selangor state's investment arm, will build the facility, he said.