Eyes on Langat 2 water treatment plant tender

Among those likely to bid for it are Gamuda, Loh & Loh and George Kent
PETALING
JAYA: While the Selangor water problems get tossed in political heat,
industry players are keeping their eyes peeled for any forthcoming
government tender for the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment
plant.
To recap, the Federal Government is pushing for the
immediate construction of the treatment plant to resolve water shortage
issues in the state but the Selangor government has been pulling the
reins on the project citing plans already made to arrest the problem.
Among the names that may be game for bidding are Gamuda Bhd, Loh & Loh Corp Bhd, and George Kent (M) Bhd, according to an industry player.
The
industry player, who prefers to be anonymous, believed that the water
treatment plant needed to be constructed simultaneously with the
on-going Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer infrastructure so that
water could be piped from Pahang to Selangor seamlessly once the
structures were completed.
“When the huge water flow comes in
from Pahang, where is it going to go if there is no water treatment
plant ready to receive it?” he noted, adding that the interstate raw
water transfer was targeted to be ready in 2015.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] An
analyst says the margins for water infrastructure projects are slightly
be tter than highway projects as they are niche and require a certain
skill set. He also raised concerns about the land
issues that would hamper the Langat 2 project if the Selangor
government held back the development order.
“I don't know what
the conditions are going to be for the tendering process but land
issues would crop up,” he said. “If the land is not available for the
plant construction, it would be tough even if the Attorney-General was
brought in to push the matter forward.”
An analyst covering the
construction sector said that it would be good news for industry
players if the Federal Government called for a tender but believed that
the project would not take flight so soon.
The analyst believed
that the project might not be as attractive to companies due to the
political hype but contractors eager to top-up their orderbook might
perk up at the opportunity.
“The margins for water
infrastructure projects are slightly better than highway projects as
they are niche and require a certain skill set,” he said.
He
added that the Federal Government and the state would have to come to
some sort of agreement but both would want to be careful in making any
moves as the public may question the transparency of the project
details.
“The water issue has been going on for a long time now and it is not easy to solve,” he said.
On
the companies he thought would be bidding, he said: “One company that
comes to mind is Gamuda as it has indicated interest before.”
“But
the lead on this is still quite hazy. Gamuda may not bid as it had just
landed a big project the My Rapid Transit and it is also eyeing a
project delivery partner role in the construction of the MRT2 and
MRT3,” he said.
“It could also re-tender for the underground
works of the MRT project hence Gamuda could be tied-up with this for
the next 10 years,” he said.
The other possible candidate, he
noted, was George Kent, which has a track record with the
Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer and other similar projects.