Outcome of Fed-Selangor on-going water talks in two weeks: Mahdzir

by **Cals** Tue 18 Feb 2014, 17:41

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Bernama

Tuesday, 18 February 2014 14:06

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): The government will continue to ensure that water operators are on a sustainable footing through its restructuring initiative under the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA).

Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology & Water Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said restructuring in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang and Perlis had been completed.

Restructuring in the remaining five states of Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Kedah is expected to be finalised this year.

"Whilst the water assets are transferred to Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) to manage, we still have to look into the other issues affecting the low performance of water companies.

"Economic regulatory measures have to be enhanced to ensure the transformation of the water sector into a sustainable sector," Mahdzir said in keynote address at the Malaysia Power and Water Summit 2014.

According to Mahdzir, average annual water demand is projected to grow by three per cent to five per cent but reserves are inadequate.

"Our current demand is about 15,750 MLDs (million litres per day), while our output is about 17,900 MLDs, which is a razor-thin reserve margin.

"The consumption rate of 226 litres of water per person daily is also 61 litres higher than the recommended daily limit," he said, adding there is an immediate need to implement aggressive demand-side management in the water industry.

Mahdzir said another major issue bleeding the water industry was the high non-revenue water ratio, currently at about 36 per cent.

As the integration of the water and sewerage industries as envisaged under WSIA may take some time to materialise, Mahdzir said the government had undertaken immediate steps to address the problem by allocating RM5.5 billion to upgrade and construct new sewerage treatment plants and sewerage network in Greater KL and the Klang Valley.

Meanwhile, at a press conference, Mahdzir said, "Currently, a final round of meetings is going on between the Federal and Selangor state governments with regards to water issues, and an announcement is expected in about two weeks."

He also said the Sungai Selangor dam and Klang Gate dam water reserves were both quite critical at 58 per cent and 57 per cent respectively during his visit last week.

"If there's no rain within 20 days, the reserves would drop to 45 per cent," he said.

Mahdzir said Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (Luas) would initiate cloud seeding this week.