Selangor seals water deal
(NST) – THE Selangor and Federal governments yesterday signed the master agreement to restructure the state’s water industry.
With the signing of the agreement, new entity Air Selangor Sdn Bhd would take over operations and maintenance of the water treatment plants and water supply services which were previously managed by four concession companies.
The agreement was signed by Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah on behalf of the Federal Government, State Secretary Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi on behalf of the Selangor government, while Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad was represented by chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Faizal Abdul Rahman and Air Selangor Sdn Bhd by its CEO, Suhaimi Kamaralzaman.
It was witnessed by Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Khalid said the master agreement fulfilled the state’s wish to run
Selangor’s water industry on its own.
“This agreement has opened a new page for the water services industry in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, where a company fully owned by the people of Selangor would take the water supply service to a more professional and efficient level.
“Air Selangor Sdn Bhd will be managed by a team which has the expertise and experience in managing water services.
“I am confident that they can carry out efforts to make the Selangor water industry more holistic by taking over the operation and maintenance of the water treatment plants and water supply service, which was previously under four separate concessionaires.”
He said Air Selangor Sdn Bhd’s first task was to upgrade the water pipeline to reduce non-revenue water, which is now at 34 per cent, and increase the capacity of water treatment plants.
With the signing of the agreement, all water assets will now be placed under Air Selangor.
This includes the Langat 2 water treatment plant and its distribution system which would be managed by the same company.
Khalid pointed out that the agreement to take over the state’s water industry was finalised at a lower cost of RM7.45 billion compared to the state government’s earlier offer of RM9.65 billion.
“This agreement is a success not only for the state government but also the people of Selangor and Malaysians who have supported the efforts to return water rights to the people all this while.
“I want to stress here that the cooperation demonstrated by all quarters showed that the people’s interest trumps that of political ideology,” he said, referring to criticisms he received from Pakatan leaders that he was in cahoots with Umno over the water deal.
The Langat 2 project was among several reasons given by PKR in deciding to replace Khalid with its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Meanwhile, Ongkili said the Federal Government was committed to facilitate the Selangor government’s effort to take over Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd through Air Selangor.
He said the takeover would be done in a way that would protect the interests of both parties and enable the Selangor government to manage the water industry in a holistic manner.
