‘761 PROJECTS DELAYED DUE TO WATER CRISIS’

Developers cite lack of water supply, says Noh

ATOTAL of 761 development projects in Selangor have been delayed up to Jan 31 due to the state’s water issues. Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said the delays were due to the state government’s inability to prepare 467 million litres of water daily for the projects.

He said 40 per cent of them were housing projects.

“The ministry has received complaints from developers as they have had to apply for extension of time (EOT) 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 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 Bhd (Syabas), even though planning has been approved,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He was replying to a question by Budiman Mohd Zohdi (BNSungai Besar), who wanted to know whether the ministry had received complaints from housing developers that 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 Azmin Ali for denying that there was 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.

“Does he use dam water or treated water? If he uses dam water, I will gladly ask the Fire and Rescue Department to bring dam water to his house.”

To a supplementary question from Budiman on whether the water crisis had an economic impact on Selangor, Noh said it had affected urban, commercial and mixed development projects.

“It has also impacted investment in Selangor. Selangor was No. 1 in terms of investment, but it is now in fourth place.”