Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan has been urged to disclose the concession agreement for the planned incinerator project in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said this was to avoid past mistakes that the government experienced with smaller incinerator projects in Pulau Pangkor, Langkawi and Cameron Highlands.

"(These incinerators) have failed in the past, at great cost to the federal government," Ong said in a statement today.

He was seeking for a disclosure on the projected cost of the project, the tipping fee that would be charged to Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the conditions of the waste guarantee to the company, the length of the concession period, the performance indicators and the terms by which the government could take over the project if it failed to deliver.

"In addition, the minister must convince the rakyat the need for the Kepong incinerator given that KL has started the separation of municipal waste which should decrease the overall amount of waste that needs to be disposed," he added.

Ong was responding to news that three companies had been shortlisted for the incinerator project.

They are Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) in partnership with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem Co; Cenviro Sbn Bhd (formerly UEM Environment Sdn Bhd) in partnership with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd; and DRB-Hicom in partnership with Malakoff Corp Bhd and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp.

The Edge reported that the concession is expected to be awarded next month.

The Kepong waste incinerator is expected to be the largest in Malaysia.

The Public Accounts Committee under former chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamad found that the Urban Well-being, Housing, and Local Government Ministry had awarded the four incinerator construction projects to XCN Technology Sdn Bhd (XCNT) without due diligence, resulting in delays and inefficiencies.

The committee told the government to take action against several individuals it found responsible for approving the mini-incinerators on the islands without first inspecting the technology used.

The individuals are Housing and Local Governments Ministry secretary-general Arpah Abdul Razak; National Solid Waste Management Department director-general Nadzri Yahya; National Solid Waste Management Technological Evaluation Committee member professor Rozainee Taib of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; and Malaysian Industry-Government Group of High Technology analyst Sivapalan Katsiravale.

The PAC also urged the government to take action against XCNT which had provided the unproved technology.

However no action was taken, and Rahman, who was then Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister defended the ministry officials involved, saying they had not acted unilaterally.

The PAC has called for a second audit into the incinerators.