A heads of agreement has been signed between the Selangor and federal governments to conclude the restructuring of the Selangor water industry.

Tweets by Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s press secretary Arfa’eza Aziz confirmed the signing ceremony.

In a photograph tweeted by Arfa’eza, Khalid is seen signing the heads of agreement together with Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Maximus Ongkili.

Khalid in a statement later said the success in the signing of the agreement was a victory for the people of Selangor, who have long supported the state’s water industry takeover plans.

“The successful collaboration (between Selangor and federal governments) shows that the people’s interests surpass the different political ideologies,” he said.

He added the state government believes the RM9.65 billion offer to concessionaires was “fair and reasonable”.

Khalid, who is also Bandar Tun Razak MP, explained that the state government, through the Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) had started the takeover offer process to all concessionaires.

Currently, only the takeover of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd  (Splash) has yet to be finalised, he said.

He added that the “success” in taking over (water concessionaire) Syabas also enables the state government to focus on upgrading the water pipelines to lessen non-revenue water (NRW).

“The takeover of water treatment plants will enable the state government to upgrade the capacities of the plants with the latest technology,” he said.

“Also, the success in building the underground tunnel to flow water from Pahang to the Langat river (which will then be transferred to the Selangor and Semenyih rivers respectively), will end the water shortage problem.”

He also assured Klang Valley water users that there will be no hike in water tariffs for a period of at least three years from now.