Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has extended an “invitation” to Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui to “learn” more about the state’s water industry.
Khalid said an upcoming forum sanctioned by the state government would be the “best time” for Chin to gain expert knowledge on the water supply situation facing Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
“Maybe he can learn from the experts who will be at the forum. He can also attend as a speaker, so that the public can listen to his explanation (on the Federal Government’s position on the state’s water industry),” he said after presenting land titles to Taman Murni residents.
Khalid said this when asked to respond to Chin’s latest argument that adequate water supply is determined by the output of the state’s 34 water treatment plants and not by the current water levels of its dams as argued by the state government.
Recently, Chin repeated the Federal Government’s position that some of the plants have been running over capacity to meet demand, making it necessary to start building the proposed Langat 2 water treatment plant as soon as possible to avert a potential crisis as early as 2014.
Khalid, however, panned the crisis as an alleged “spin” by treated water distribution concessionaire Syabas, and repeated the state’s stand that there is no water shortage.
The Mentri Besar claimed that the state’s existing plants can produce more than enough water to meet the demands of residents in the three regions, provided the rate of non-revenue water (NRW) is more than halved.
Citing state estimates, Khalid said the plants are capable of producing some 4,700 million litres per day (MLD) of treated water, over 50 per cent more than the actual demand of 3,000 MLD by residents in Selangor and the two adjacent federal territories.
He claimed, however, that around 1,900 MLD of treated water is lost, either due to leakages in distribution pipes or other reasons.
Meanwhile, state executive councillor Ronnie Liu said the date and venue for the forum would be announced at an another forum on water and the Talam issue on Tuesday in Shah Alam.
He said Chin is more than welcomed to attend both forums.
