The Selangor government has received confirmation from the federal government that the restructuring of the state water supply industry will be completed by the end of this year.

In a letter dated Sept 9, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Maximus Ongkili said all the arguments and facts raised by the state government have been considered and the issue would be resolved before Dec 31.

NONE Stating this today, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim expressed the state government's gratitude to Ongkili for commitment to make sure that water management in Selangor is handed back to the state government.

The move, Khalid said, would also be in line with the Water Supply Industry Act 2006.

"We reiterate that we are prepared to take over the water operations in the state as soon as the issue is resolved," Khalid said after the weekly state executive council meeting today.

Since Pakatan Rakyat took over Selangor in 2008, the state government has been seeking to acquire four companies involved in water supply works in order to restructure the water supply industry of the state.

Khalid had said last week that Langat 2, an expensive project to treat water channelled from an underground tunnel connected to water sources in neighbouring Pahang state, will be part of the restructuring exercise .

However, Khalid today refused to talk about the terms and conditions of the takeover agreement, saying he needed to wait until Ongkili meets up with the four water concessionaires next week on the takeover process.

He added that the cost of the takeover would also be announced shortly.

He also stressed that the state government would adhere to its election manifesto and continue with its first 20 cubic metres of free water policy after the restructuring.

Since 2009, state investment arm Kumpulan Darul Ehsan (KDEB) has offered - four times, with offers ranging from RM5.7 billion to RM9.65 billion - to take over the water assets of the four companies.

 RM500,000 to repair Dengkil tent dwellers’ flats

Khalid also announced that the state executive council has decided that Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) would repair the cracked-up flats in Taman Permata Dengkil.

He said the Khalid the budget for the repairs would be RM500,000 and that the exco wanted the job done in less than a month.

NONE He said that the tender process for the repair work has started and the contractor picked for the job would be confirmed next week.

Khalid also said that the state government had prepared a 30-acre parcel of land, located 5km away from the Taman Permata Dengkil flats, for the federal government to build new houses for the residents.

“We feel that although we have the land, we also need 18 to 24 months to build the houses before the people can move in,” he said, adding that the state government will also improve the current conditions of the tents.

Twenty families have been living in tents near their flats for more than 90 days since a series of cracks forced them out of their federal government-built flats in Dengkil, Selangor, on June 11.

They had rejected a proposal by the Housing and Urban Wellbeing Ministry for them to temporarily move to Bukit Jalil as it was too far away and also, they were never given any official letter on this.

The minister, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, had previously accused the state government of not allocating land for the federal government to build the houses for the residents.