KUALA LUMPUR: The share price of PBA Holdings Bhd, the owner of Penang's water supply firm Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP), surged to RM1.89 a share today after Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state expects to sign a water deal with Perak this year, with another eight projects in the pipeline.
PBA Holdings' shares opened six sen higher at RM1.52, before continuing its uptrend to a peak of RM1.89 during the day.
At market close the company's share price lost some ground to close 23.97 per cent higher, at RM1.81 a share.
Earlier today, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said he hopes to ink a memorandum of understanding or an agreement on financing for the scheme with Perak soon. He said he is asking for 700 million litres a day (MLD) from Perak
He said the Sungai Perak water scheme is part of the state's long term water contingency plan, which is only expected to come online in eight to 10 years.
The state has eight other projects under the Penang Water Contingency Plan 2030 (WCP2030).
PBAPP will be spending RM1.18 billion over the next few years for the WCP2030 to boost an increase of 602 MLD of water supply for the state.
Chow emphasised that the Sungai Perak Water scheme, initially known as the Sungai Perak Raw Water Transfer Scheme (SPRWTS), faced a 12-year standstill due to Perak's reluctance to supply raw water to Penang.
With Perak now agreeing to furnish treated water to Penang, Chow stated that talks regarding the project have recommenced.
A total of 590,000 water consumers will be affected by scheduled water supply disruption in Penang from Jan 10-14.
This is due to two major valve replacement works in Sungai Dua, Butterworth.