Selangor: Water restructure first, then Langat 2

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim today demanded the Federal government to allow the state to restructure its water services before any discussion on the Langat 2 water treatment plant.

To date, Khalid said the Energy, Green Technology and Water ministry had yet to respond to the state government’s letter on the proposed restructuring exercise.

“I am still waiting for feedback on the letter and if the government agrees for the state to implement water restructuring, we can discuss further on Langat 2,” Khalid told state news portal Selangorku, adding that the restructuring of the water industry was the most viable solution to end the current water impasse with the Federal government.

The construction of Langat 2 has been blocked by the Selangor government which is at loggerheads with the Federal government and Selangor water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS), over the water restructuring exercise.

The state government has maintained that it is cheaper to upgrade the state's existing 34 treatment plants and reduce the percentage of non-revenue water in order to increase water supply, but the Federal government insists the Langat 2 is needed to resolve what it calls a looming water supply crisis.

Meanwhile, the Association for Water and Energy Research (AWER) warned that the cost to build Langat 2 and Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Tunnel at the price of RM3.7 billion and RM2.5 billion respectively would eventually be borne by consumers.

Selangor has also warned that any return of BN as the state government would spell an end to the state’s 20 cubic metres of free water policy every month.

-Harakahdaily