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.
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.
