Selangor water saga - Third time lucky?

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor water industry consolidation is back on the table again after Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) agreed to a third extension for Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) to finalise the agreement.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Puncak Niaga COO Datuk Syed Danial Syed Ariffin said both parties have agreed to extend the "stop date" for another one month until April 9, 2015 to enable the pending issues related to the water asset transfer between the Selangor state government and the Federal Government to be resolved.
The announcement comes three days after PNHB said it was considering a written request from Air Selangor for a further extension of time for the fulfilment of the conditions precedent stated in the conditional sale and purchase agreement dated Nov 11, 2014.
PNHB has previously reiterated that it fulfilled all conditions precedent under the SPA.
The Selangor Government has requested for a one-month extension to finalise the proposed take-over of the water concession from Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd (PNSB) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) by the state government.
PNHB, controlled by its executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, said that the request would be discussed at the management level before consideration by the PNHB board of directors.
"The board of directors of PNHB when considering the third extension of the stop date expressed concern that the longer the proposed disposals and the consolidation/restructuring of Selangor water industry which had been delayed since 2008 take to complete, it will affect the level of services and management of the water supply system in the State of Selangor and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
"This will have direct impact on the interests and welfare of the consumers in the State of Selangor and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as many major decisions on the capital expenditure (capex) cannot be implemented as these had been put on hold by the government pending completion of the consolidation/restructuring of the Selangor water industry," Syed Danial said in his statement released yesterday.
He said that the PNHB is very concerned that further delays will adversely affect the level of services to the consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya since a lot of issues needed the Federal and the Selangor's state governments consent.
PNHB urged both parties especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Mentri Besar of Selangor Azmin Ali "to put in their best efforts and to work closely and resolve the matter soonest possible in the best interests of the consumers."
The Selangor water restructuring exercise was thought to have gone up in smoke on March 9 when Azmin said the agreement had lapsed after the federal government failed to fulfil conditions precedent in the master agreement.
The dispute centred on the transfer of ownership of land involving 26,000km of pipes in the state. Also in contention is the ownership of the Semenyih and Bukit Nanas dams.
Azmin Ali claimed that the transfer of land where the pipes are located were not part of the master agreement signed last September.As the terms of the master agreement was not honoured, he added that the water deal had lapsed.
On the other hand, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili claimed that the assets stated in the agreement had included both the pipes and land. He noted that the state government had refused to resolve three of the eight conditions in the master agreement.
PNHB's share price rose 2 sen, or 0.78% to RM2.60 yesterday.