KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 761 new development projects in Selangor have been delayed as of January 31, due to the worsening crisis surrounding the state’s water supply.
Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, Tan Sri Noh Omar, said the delays are due to the Selangor government’s inability to prepare 467 million litres of water daily for the projects.
From the total, he said, 40 per cent or 305 projects involve housing developments such as flats and terrace houses.
“The ministry has received complaints from developers as they have had to apply for extension of time (EOT) to develop their projects, all because of the lack of water supply.
Under Act 118 of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966, developers are allowed to apply for EOT in the execution of a development to prevent them from being hit with a penalty for late handover of property.
“The EOT applications revolve around the delays in approval of water supply by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Berhad (SYABAS), even though planning has been approved,” he said during Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was replying to a question by Budiman Mohd Zohdi (BN-Sungai Besar) who wanted to know whether the ministry had received complaints from housing developers which failed to complete their projects as a result of water problems in Selangor.
In his reply, Noh also lambasted Gombak Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, for denying that there is a water crisis in the state.
“The Selangor Menteri Besar does not want to face facts, and doesn’t know how to differentiate between dam water and treated water.
“I would like to know. Does he use dam water or treated water? If he uses water for the dams, I will gladly ask the fire department to bring dam water to his house,” he quipped.
To a supplementary question from Budiman on whether the water crisis has had an economic impact on Selangor, Noh said it has affected urban development, commercial projects, as well as mixed developments.
“It has also impacted investment in Selangor. Previously,Selangor was a developed state and number one in terms of investment but it’s now in fourth place.
“Although Sarawak had 20 projects approved compared to 202 in Selangor, the investment value in Sarawak is RM10.5 billion while it is only RM5.5 billion in Selangor.
“This means that investors are afraid to come to Selangor due to the water issue. This will have an effect on job opportunities and lead to unemployment,” he said.
Reporting by Syed Umar Ariff; Rohaniza Idris; Luqman Arif Abdul Karim; Ahmad Suhael Adnan and Siti Nur Mas Erah Amran