The urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister has been criticised for not disclosing the cost, tipping fee and funding model for the proposed incinerator in Taman Beringin, Kepong.

In a press release today, Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said withholding such information had made a mockery out of the international and open tender process.

"If he supports open disclosure, why not let the public know the cost of building the incinerator, the tipping fee and the funding model for the entire incinerator project?," Ong asked.

Ong was responding to minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan's replies to 24 questions posed by KTI during a meeting in Putrajaya on January 30.

The written answers were given the group on February 5.

Among others, Abdul Rahman stated that the tipping fee has not been finalised and that the authorities were in the process of evaluating two bids, but did not provide further details.

Is there a hidden charge?

On the opaque nature of the costing for the project, Ong said that authorities should be forthcoming because ratepayers have a right to know if the they would be charged for the operation of the incinerator.

"Even though there is no local election in KL, it is likely that the residents will see an increase in their taxes to fund the proposed incinerator. It worries me when the minister has refused to divulge the cost of this entire project," Ong said.  

According to Abdul Rahman's reply,  the ministry will not pay for the construction of the incinerator and would only be obliged to pay a "tipping fee", which is the charge levied by incinerator operators for the receipt of waste.

KTI is a lobby group formed following Putrajaya's decision to construct a incinerator in Taman Beringin, Kepong that is capable of handling 2,700 tonnes of waste daily.

However, the site is surrounded by densely populated residential neighbourhoods.

KTI has been urging Putrajaya to prioritise other strategies instead of incineration, such as the "reduce, recycle and reuse".