Najib dismisses talk of RM500m compensation for scrapping Broga incinerator

KUALA LUMPUR (July 11, 2007): Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today dismissed talk that the compensation for the scrapped Broga incinerator project would be more than RM500 million, saying the amount is still being negotiated.
Najib, who chairs the Cabinet Committee On Solid Waste Management, was asked by reporters to comment on speculation that the compensation could be between RM500 million and RM700 million.
"No, that's off the mark," he said. "I cannot give the exact figure because we are still in negotiation," he said.
Najib, who is also Defence Minister, was speaking to reporters after witnessing the presentation of RM170,000 worth of pharmaceutical products by Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd to the Malaysian contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the ministry here.
Although there had been talk since the end of last year that the RM1.5 billion project in Broga, Semenyih, was scrapped, there was no official confirmation until last Friday (July 6), through a letter from the Attorney-General's Chambers in a court case on the project.
A group of residents in Semenyih, concerned about the incinerator's impact on public health and the environment, had filed a suit opposing the project in November 2003.
Before the suit was heard in the Federal Court on Friday, the residents' lawyer Uma Parvathy Thothathri announced she had received the letter on Thursday (July 5), which said the chambers was informed by the government that the project has been cancelled.
On Saturday (July 7), Najib said the government decided to scrap the project because it was very costly to build and maintain.
He said the decision was made at the Cabinet Committee Meeting last year.
He said there were other alternatives to address the waste disposal problem, such as the sanitary landfill system in Bukit Tagar.
A news report said the government was in the midst of compensation negotiations with Japanese firm Ebara Corp, the contractor for the incinerator project, and its local partner Hartasuma Sdn Bhd.
It said although construction of the incinerator had not yet begun at the site, there was work done on technical drawings, surveys and procurement arrangements.
It said the compensation sought was believed to be between RM500 million and RM700 million.
Asked today to elaborate on how the government arrived at the decision that the cost was too high, Najib said: "The cost is high, but not only the capital cost, the operational cost is high as well."
He said these translated into very exorbitant fees for local councils.
"This would be untenable because we have to pass it to the consumers. So at that point of time, the government decided that it should not continue with the project," said Najib, who later flagged off the Malaysia 50th Independence Expedition Tour: Cape Town - Kuala Lumpur 2007 at the ministry.

tunku : everytime a project is scrapped , hundred of millions have to be paid in compensation. so much of tax payers money goes down the drain.