PLANS to privatise the water supply in Negeri Sembilan have been aborted as the new tariffs proposed by a consortium planning to undertake the project was exorbitant.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said although the state government had awarded a letter of intent (LOI) to NS Water Konsortium (NSWK) for the purpose, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister’s Department had rejected it.
“Although we issued the LOI, the EPU still has the final say. It felt that the proposed tariffs are too high,” he said.
Mohamad was speaking to reporters after opening the Kemas nursery at Taman Satria in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan.
Following the EPU decision, the state government had decided to corporatise the Water Supply Department (JBA) instead.
Muhamad said the state Water Enactment would be amended to provide for this.
The project was part of the RM5bil privatisation bid that NSWK had proposed to undertake for 30 years.
Recently, NSWK chairman Datuk Rahiman Dawood had disputed a claim by Zecon Bhd that it had successfully bagged a RM125mil raw water transfer project in the state.
Zecon chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad had claimed in a statement that the RM125mil deal was to construct a 12.6km tunnel for the Sungai Teriang Water Transfer Scheme.
The project entails the transfer of some 330 million litres of raw water per day from Sg Teriang and Sg Kenaboi to Sg Terip Dam for consumption in Seremban and its surrounding areas.
Rahiman said Zecon could not be awarded the project as the state government had in 1997 given the nod to NSWK.
He said the matter had yet to be decided as it was before the High Court.
Mohamad said the decision to award the project to Zecon was made by the Energy, Water and Communications, and the Finance ministries.
“Since the matter is now under the jurisdiction of the federal government, we have no say in the matter,” he said.
Source: STAR, 13 July 2007
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