EVEN though Stream B of the Langat Water Treatment Plant 2 (LRA 2 ) has been handed over to Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor), there will be no changes in water tariffs in Selangor.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar gave his assurance that government had made all the calculations necessary and found that the tariffs can remain as usual. 

“Air Selangor comes under Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB), which is a government agency. The lease (for LRA 2) comes with the minimum interest rate payable back in 45 years.

“No bank (will give this facility), neither will there be another way that they will get the opportunity to pay back over a 45-year period. That is why it’s going to be a very, very nominal sum that is going to be paid by Air Selangor,” he said today after witnessing the handing over of Stream B of the LRA 2 in Kajang today.

PAAB is entrusted with the development of LRA 2 based on financial assistance from the federal government. 

However, Xavier, who is also Kuala Langat MP, said water tariffs should be reviewed in the long term so that the water company can make use of the extra profit to find solutions to reduce non-revenue water. 

Meanwhile, on suggestions that raw water supply from Pahang be distributed to other states in the peninsula, Xavier said the ministry is looking at a few proposals and needed to study this in depth as it involved huge costs.

Earlier in his speech, Xavier said the federal government, through PAAB, had allocated RM4.2 billion for the construction of the LRA 2 to meet increasing water demands in the Klang Valley. 

He said the LRA 2 can supply 1,130 million litres per day (MLD) to cater to nearly two million people after its full completion by 2023.

Stream B will supply 565 MLD to almost 900,000 people in Hulu Langat, Cheras, Bangi, Semenyih and Pudu.

The LRA2 is expected to meet water demand in the Klang Valley until 2025. Construction began in 2014 and was initially scheduled to be completed in 2017. 

Xavier also said that the ministry will closely monitor all dam levels through the National Water Services Commission (SPAN)  to ensure adequate supply of raw water.

He added that SPAN had identified and carried out several mitigation measures for states like Kedah, Penang and Perlis, which are facing a prolonged dry period. – Bernama, January 21, 2020.