Putrajaya, Penang to ink water restructuring deal

Penang will join Johor, NS, Malacca and Perlis which had signed the deal to surrender their water assets to federal gov't. Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) will sign a water restructuring deal with the Penang government tomorrow which marks another progress in the restructuring of the national water industry in the country. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui said the impending deal with the Penang government was part of the first phase by the federal government to consolidate the water industry. “Penang will join four other states, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Perlis which had signed the water restructuring agreement and to surrender their water assets to PAAB. “I don't see why Selangor is so difficult to do so. Penang can accept, all other states have approved. I don't see why Selangor cannot,” he toldBernama in an interview. It is believed that PAAB, the government's water asset management company, a wholly-owned unit under the Minister of Finance Inc, is expected to make an offer to buy the water assets in Penang for more than RM3 billion. However, Chin said, the details of the agreement would only be announced after the signing of the deal tomorrow. The national water restructuring plan is meant to relieve the states and concessionaires of the burden of funding future water infrastructure development. After the restructuring, the responsibility falls under the purview of the federal government and PAAB, which is entrusted to buy over the states' water assets, thus making them asset-light and allowing them to focus on operations and maintenance. Meanwhile, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the negotiations on the terms of the water agreement were concluded two months ago. “The signing ceremony has been fixed tomorrow in Putrajaya between Chin and myself,” he said in a statement. He said the Penang state government was initially reluctant to accede to the migration of the state's water assets to the PAAB under the federal government. “However as chairman of Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang, I had no choice but to find a solution as the previous state government had agreed to surrender the state's water assets to the federal government under the Water Services Industry Act 2006,” he said. - Bernama