GAMUDA Bhd’s associate company Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Bhd (Splash), which up till yesterday is not joining three other water concessionaires in Selangor to sign a takeover deal with the state government, now faces the prospect of a forced takeover under the Water Services Industry Act (Wasia) 2006.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the water deal is expected to be sealed with Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) and Konsortium Abbas Sdn Bhd (Abbas) as early as this weekend.
“The three concessionaires are at the final stages of signing the agreement.
The process will be completed by the end of the week,” Khalid said.
PNSB, Syabas and Abbas had previously agreed to the takeover prices offered by the state government.
As Splash became the only concessionaire that has yet to agree on the state’s takeover offer, Khalid said the state would be forced to invoke the Wasia 2006 that would allow for a forced takeover of water assets by the federal government if Splash could not agree on the takeover.
“We have discussed the prospects of invoking the Wasia and would leave it until the very end for Splash to make their decision,” he said.
Splash had rejected the state government’s offer of 12 per cent return on equity, demanding a 15 per cent return instead.
Abbas had earlier this year accepted the state government’s takeover offer of RM900 million. PNSB and Syabas, under Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, have agreed to an offer of RM2.47 billion and RM3.11 billion, respectively.
In a reply to the Selangor government’s offer on March 10 2014, Gamuda, which owns a 40 per cent stake in Splash, had said that “it was constrained from accepting the offer due to the adverse consequences to the company”.
Splash holds a 30-year concession to operate and maintain the Sungai Selangor Phase 3 water supply, which covers the Sungai Selangor Phase 1 water supply scheme. The company also manages the Sungai Tinggi Dam.
On Selangor’s water crisis, the state’s official spokesperson on water issues Dr Yunus Hairi said cloud seeding efforts have produced desired results as the water level at the Sungai Selangor dam increased steadily over the week.