Govt to go ahead with Langat 2 despite Selangor's 'disapproval'

The government will continue with the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant even though the Selangor government has not issued a development order for the plant’s construction.

Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Noriah Kasnon said the government has taken the initiative to allocate RM606 million to carry out mitigation projects in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to tackle the current water crisis and future water demand in Selangor.

She said the mitigation projects are aimed at fulfiling the water demands in these states up until 2016 and the state government would also be involved in implementing part of the projects.

“This clearly shows that the Selangor government actually admits that Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will face water shortage in 2014 if the mitigation steps are not implemented,” Noriah said.

She was addressing a question by Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) on the current status of the Langat 2 project in the Dewan Rakyat today.

“This project is to ensure there is enough treated water in Selangor, KL and Putrajaya. If the state government refuses to cooperate, I fear that the people in Selangor, KL and Putrajaya will have insufficient water supply in years to come,’ she said.

She also said the proposed membrane technology by the Selangor government will only serve as a short term solution to tackle the water issue and is not practical in the long run.

The Langat 2 project is one of the components under the Raw Water Supply Scheme from Pahang to Selangor. The project involves water treatment works to treat raw water from Sungai Semantan, Pahang, distribution of pipes and construction of ponds in KL and Selangor which will be carried out in two phases.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had previously stated that the state was not against the construction of Langat 2 but it wanted the project to be in accordance with the restructuring of the water services industry in the state.