KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 785 development projects submitted to the government could not be approved due to the water supply crisis in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya from February until March, this year.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said in the same period, the government approved only 45 development projects.
"During the water rationing period, companies that use a lot of water for their operations had met with the ministry to seek assistance.
"Foreign investors were also afraid to come in due to the insufficient water supply as water is a vital component of their operations.
"If the water supply problem is not resolved, it will not only adversely affect domestic consumers but will also be a loss to the nation," Mahdzir said in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid (BN-Kota Tinggi) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting, here, today.
Earlier, to the original question from Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani (BN-Titiwangsa) on the latest developments of the Langat 2 water treatment plant project, he said the contractor had started the preliminary works involving surveying the land and marking its boundary while waiting for other approvals from the Selangor government.
"The ministry and state government are also in the final stage of entering into an agreement, detailing actions that need to be taken in implementing the memorandum of understanding signed by both sides on Feb 26," he added. -- BERNAMA