The RM471.6mil civil suit by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) against the Selangor government will not have any impact on the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant.
An analyst told StarBiz that the suit was a separate issue as it involved payment in relation to the concession agreement.
“There will be no impact on the construction of Langat 2 water treatment plant as both issues are not related at all,” she said yesterday.
Selangor state's water review panel member Charles Santiago, who is also Klang MP, said the suit would not affect the Langat 2 project as it was over claims on water tariff rates in Selangor.
Syabas is filing the suit against the Selangor state government for RM471mil for allegedly delaying a water tariff adjustment.
In the suit, Syabas said under the concession agreement dated Dec 15, 2004, which was entered between the Federal Government, the state government and Syabas, it was granted a 30-year concession to buy treated water from water treatment operators and to supply treated water in the distribution area.
In a letter dated March 31, 2008, Syabas claimed it had sent documents to the state government to support its request to increase the gazetted tariff from RM1.39 per cubic metre to RM1.89 per cubic metre.
It claimed that it had determined the new tariff in accordance with the provisions in the agreement.
The state government had failed to notify whether it had agreed to the new tariff.
It had applied to proceed with the civil action.
Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said alternatively, the state government was seeking leave to cross-examine Syabas chief executive officer Ruslan Hassan.
Syabas counsel Datuk Harpal Singh Grewal told High Court judge Justice Anantham Kasinather that his team had filed an affidavit opposing the application.
Justice Anantham set Feb 28 for clarifications and a decision over the application.
The Selangor government said it had yet to grant approval for the construction of the Sungai Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant but details are being worked out.
The Langat 2 treatment plant costs some RM4bil, according to analysts' estimates, while the entire water transfer project of which Langat 2 is part of, is estimated to cost some RM9bil.
Scheduled for completion in 2014, the project will pump 1,890 million litres of raw water a day from a river in Pahang to the plant.- TheStar
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