Three water concessionaires agree for Selangor to take over

Three water concessionaires have so far agreed to accept the Selangor government's offer to take over their water equity, assets and liabilities.

The two latest companies which have agreed are Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), subject to the official agreement of both companies' shareholders after their respective Extraordinary General Meeting to be held at a later date.

Konsortium ABASS Sdn Bhd's (Abass) shareholders had earlier approved a RM900 million offer for the company's equity, assets and liabilities.

With the latest development, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry on Friday said the Federal government has decided to postpone the enforcement of Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA).

The decision was announced in a joint statement by its Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

The statement said there is no need to enforce Section 114 of the Act at this juncture, and the decision is also supported by the Selangor state government.

It added the postponement was made by Ongkili after getting feedback from the state government in a meeting between him and Abdul Khalid earlier Friday.

According to the statement, both parties were informed that Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) had agreed for both its concessionaires, PNSB and Syabas, to be taken over by the Selangor state government.

Under the agreement, PNHB accepts the state government's offer of RM2.47 billion and RM3.11 billion respectively for PNSB and Syabas' equity, assets and liabilities.

"This means that three out of four water concessionaires in Selangor have so far accepted the takeover offer by the Selangor state government.

"Both the Selangor and Federal Governments believe that this agreement to proceed with the water restructuring is the way forward in the restructuring of water services in Selangor, the Federal Territory and Putrajaya," the statement said.

The sale of the equity, assets and liabilities of PNSB, Syabas and Abass totalling RM6.57 billion is in line with the amount agreed upon in a memorandum of understanding dated Feb 26, 2014 between the federal and state governments, it said.

As the shareholders of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) are still refusing the offer by the state government, agreement has been reached between the federal and state governments to review the price of bulk water supplied by Splash, it added.

The statement also said that the Selangor state government is still prepared to proceed with the acquisition of Splash if the concessionaire agrees to the price offered by the state government on February 26.

The federal and state governments have also agreed to expedite the formation and functioning of the committee that will monitor and ensure the timely construction of the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant and Distribution System (the LRAL2 Scheme).

Following this development, all the requirements and approvals pertaining to land and permits to complete the LRAL2 Scheme would be expedited by the state government, as per the MoU and the Heads of Agreement which would be executed jointly by both the Federal and state governments, said the statement.