MB Khalid meets water operators from France, UK

SHAH ALAM: Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has met two international water operators from France and United Kingdom to seek their views on an efficient water management model for Selangor.
Khalid said both operators, French-based Suez Environment and UK's Wessex Water, have expressed their readiness to share their expertise in water management to ensure that the state's model will not only be efficient and effective but offers a competitive tariff.
"The stand-off on the negotiation for the state to take over the water services industry from the concessionaires as demanded in the Water Services Act 2006 should not stop the state from making the relevant preparations.
"The current privatisation model has not brought any improvement to the industry which is now infested with various problems including non-holistic water planning and management system, ineffective regulatory structures, inefficient operations and high non-revenue water.
"As such, we are happy that these experts are willing to share their technological know-how with us," he said in a statement Friday.
The statement did not mention when the two meetings were held.
Khalid said the meeting with Suez Environment was held in Marseille, France led by its senior executive vice-president of water coordination research and development, Bernard Guirkinger.
In London, Khalid met Wessex's executive chairman Colin Skellett and Dave Elliott, who is the director of planning and asset management, to discuss the importance of a holistic water management.
Khalid stressed that any bilateral co-operation between the two operators would go through a transparent and accountable process to ensure value-for-money services. BERNAMA

tunku : this is just a way for an arrogant mb to make some money out of new deal or hiring foreign expertise. by doing this pakatan will surely get some kickback from it .hope the deal won't long last as the GE is around the corner.we have expertise at home why need from abroad?