Langat 2 may only be ready by 2019, not 2017

A file photo of ministry officials visiting the plant's construction site. The plant is now set to be completed in 2019 instead of 2017 as planned.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Langat 2 water treatment plant and its distribution system (LRAL2) project may only be fully completed in 2019 instead of 2017 as planned.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Dr Maximus Ongkili said this was because of the delay in executing the Selangor water supply industry restructuring agreement.

"Right now, the Selangor government has instructed the relevant agency and local authorities to defer the approvals and issuance of permits for the building of the water treatment plant until the restructuring exercise is finalised."

Ongkili said this when winding up the debate on the 11th Malaysia Plan for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat, here, Wednesday.

He said the federal government had already taken the action needed to enforce the water supply industry restructuring for Selangor and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

The minister said the restructuring exercise could not be fully resolved yet following the Selangor government's failure to fulfil the conditions in the master agreement signed between the state government and federal government.

In fact, he added, the Selangor government had deferred the gazetting of the remaining 23 plots of land applied for acquisition by the federal government for the project.

Ongkili said discussions with the Selangor menteri besar were ongoing so that matters in the earlier agreement could be fully resolved by the state government.

"The federal government will not give up...soon we will meet with the officers involved to give the actual picture and on the need to expedite the implementation of the project in the interest of the people.

"We have not given up in seeking victory for the rakyat (people)," he said.

In March, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali revoked the Selangor water supply industry restructuring agreement, claiming that the federal government had breached the agreement.

That action was taken even though the federal government and Selangor government had signed a memorandum of understanding on the restructuring exercise which had prolonged since 2008 until February 2014.

- Sumber: Astro Awani