Selangor to honour water pact with Pahang

Selangor to honour water pact with Pahang
By Ooi Tee Ching
Published: 2008/08/11
Business Times

SELANGOR, now ruled by the Pakatan Rakyat, will maintain the purchase price of raw water under the Pahang-Selangor water transfer project at 10 sen per 1,000 litres."We honour the contract signed with the Pahang state government and we stick to the raw water purchase rate," said Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.In November 2007, Pahang signed a contract with the previous Selangor administration to supply raw water to Selangor at 10 sen per 1,000 litres of water from the Pahang-Selangor Inter-State Raw Water Transfer Project.Pahang is expected to receive an annual income of RM82.5 million from the water sale to Selangor. Once implemented, the rate is to be reviewed every five years.

The Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer project involves developing water resources in Pahang and constructing a 45km tunnel to transport water to water-starved Selangor to host its diverse industries."I was informed that the pipe linkage between Pahang and Selangor could materialise by 2012," Khalid said.He was speaking to reporters after a working visit to the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant and Labs at Putrajaya over the weekend.The treatment plant is being operated and maintained by Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd, a 55 per cent subsidiary of Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd.

Asked on the progress of the state government taking over all four companies involved in the treatment and distribution of water in Selangor, he replied: "We hope to complete the restructuring by the end of the year."The four companies are Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash).Puncak Niaga's 70 per cent subsidiary Syabas distributes water in Selangor and owns 29 water treatment plants.Splash, which is 40 per cent-owned by Gamuda Bhd, is the concessionaire of the Sungai Selangor Water Supply Scheme Phase 1 and 3. As the nation's largest water supplier, Splash is capable of treating 2,000 million litres per day.