Review RM1.96b water treatment deal, Otai Reformis tells Selangor govt

 

Otai Reformis 1998 today called for a review of the construction contract of the Sungai Rasau water treatment plant in Selangor.

Its secretary Abdul Razak Ismail alleged that the construction contract, which was given to Gamuda Bhd by Air Selangor, was awarded in a hurry. 

In a statement, he claimed that the Selangor state government seems to be exhausting the state treasury funds before the 15th general election. 

“In the current uncertain economic situation and the increase in prices of essential goods at this time, the Selangor government is seen to be ‘spending big’, as if it’s doing year-end ‘shopping’, to spend its annual allocation,” he said. 

The Edge reported on July 1 that Gamuda Bhd had been awarded the RM1.96 billion construction contract from Air Selangor as the main contractor for the water treatment plant. 

Razak alleged that the awarding process was not transparent as it did not involve an open tender.

At the same time, he criticised the hefty price of the contract.

“Building a water treatment plant is not a ‘specific project’ because many other local companies can afford to build it, so open tenders should be used to get a more reasonable price,” he said. 

Possible conflict of interest

Razak also pointed out that there is a possible conflict of interest between the Selangor state government and Gamuda following the acquisition of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) in 2018. 

Air Selangor had paid RM2.55 billion for the acquisition of the water treatment plant. 

As Air Selangor is a wholly subsidiary of the Selangor government, Razak said, the awarding of the Sungai Rasau contract should be mandated and approved by the Selangor state assembly. 

He opined that the water supply around the Klang area would be adequate for several years if the existing water treatment plant did not stop operations due to river pollution.

“Therefore, the Sungai Rasau Plant does not need to be ‘expedited’ unless the state government has a certain motive that is not announced to the people of Selangor,” he said. 

The Sungai Rasau Water Supply Scheme reportedly aims to be the biggest Off-River Storages (ORS) project in the country. 

It will rely on water sourced from the Klang River, with a treated water capacity of 1,400 million litres per day.

The project was previously opposed by Kuala Langat MP Dr Xavier Jayakumar.  - Mkini