Putrajaya takes over all water companies in Selangor
The Malaysian Insider – Mon, Apr 7, 2014RELATED CONTENT
- Putrajaya setuju guna WSIA ambil alih syarikat konsesi air Selangor
Putrajaya has moved to assume control of all four water concession companies and a water licensee in Selangor to ensure the security and sustainability of water supply to residents of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
This decision was made by the Cabinet during its weekly meeting, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (pic) in a statement today.
“The Federal Government does not wish to allow the protracted negotiation on the restructuring of the water industry between the Selangor government and the concessionaires, as well as the on-going water supply crisis plaguing the three regions, to cause the people and the national economy to suffer,” he said.
Ongkili said Putrajaya, on the basis of national interest, has agreed to invoke Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) to assume control of all four water concession companies and a water licensee in Selangor.
According to Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN), up till March 31, 2014, a total of 821 project applications in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur had to be put on hold as adequate water supply could not be guaranteed.
Ongkili added that the invocation of Section 114 of the WSIA was conditional on both the Federal and Selangor governments signing a Heads of Agreement on the water industry restructuring, financial facilitation and completion of the Langat 2 project, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties on February 26, 2014.
Putrajaya signed a MoU with the Selangor government whereby the latter would purchase four water concessionaires for RM9.65 billion.
The concessionaires are Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Bhd (Syabas), Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Konsortium Abbas Sdn Bhd (Abbas) and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Bhd (Splash).
Under the MoU, Putrajaya was supposed to "facilitate" the restructuring of the Selangor water industry.
In return, Selangor would grant approvals for the construction of the mega-billion ringgit Langat 2 water treatment plant.
As at 5pm on March 11, the deadline outlined in the MoU for the water restructuring deal, only the state-owned Abbas had accepted the Selangor government's offer.
Splash rejected the offer outright while Puncak Niaga and its subsidiary, Syabas, said they were willing to “consider” the state's offer on several conditions.
Putrajaya then announced it would exercise its powers under the Water Services Industry Act (Wasia) 2006 to help the Selangor administration proceed with the deal.
Maximus issued a statement last Friday announcing that Putrajaya would not invoke WSIA 2006.
"Right now, we are still facilitating without invoking WSIA 2006 if possible, but the water situation is getting bad," Ongkili reportedly had said. – April 7, 2014.
