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Minister: Delay in Langat 2 project may lead to rationing by 2014

PETALING JAYA: The water restructuring issue in Selangor should be not be muddled with the Langat 2 water treatment plant project as any delay in implementing the latter will result in a 13%-14% water deficit in three areas by 2014, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui. 

He said the estimates were based on the current level of water consumption in Selangor, Wilayah Persekutan and Putrajaya. Should consumption levels rise by 2014, the deficit could widen.

He warned that any delay in the implementation of the Langat 2 water treatment plant could lead to water rationing in the areas by 2014.

 Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui

“If the project fails to take off within the scheduled timeframe this year, we will be faced with a delayed project, then the likelihood of us getting into a water supply crisis is there. If there is a water deficit, the only way out is to ration water,” Chin said.

“The Selangor government should not combine the two things (Selangor state water restructuring and Langat 2 water treatment plant project) together. The 2014 timeline is important as we cannot risk a water crisis,” he told StarBiz.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim yesterday denied the Federal Government claims that his administration was delaying the construction of a vital water treatment plant.

Khalid said the state had wanted to resolve issues surrounding the construction of the water treatment plant together with ongoing negotiations on the restructuring of the water services industry in Selangor.

However, the Federal Government wants both issues to be discussed separately.

The hurdle in the implementation of Langat 2 was the development order from the Selangor government, said Chin. Without that order, the treatment plant cannot be built as the plant is to be sited in Selangor.

“We are two months late and without the development order we cannot tender jobs. It is a simple thing and they (Selangor government) should cooperate with us. They should not withhold the development order just because of the water (assets) restructuring,” Chin said.

The expected shortage of water in the Klang Valley over the next few years has to be met from another river basin and that is why the RM9bil Pahang-Selangor interstate water transfer project is being implemented. The water from Pahang will be treated at the Langat 2 treatment plant before it is supplied to the consumers in the three areas.

Early this week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the state government had instructed its land offices and other departments not to cooperate with the Federal Government.

Chin, when asked to comment on the restructuring of water assets in Selangor, said: “We are still talking even though the progress is slow. It is not a matter of just the state or the Federal Government but any decision involves the concession companies (so it takes time).” Chin is targeting to resolve the water restructuring issue by year-end.

The state’s water assets are parked under concessionaires Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Bhd and Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd.