The framework of participation of the three companies chosen by the Selangor government to rehabilitate and develop the Klang River will be determined by the Public Private Partnership Task Force for the project, chaired by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

The three — TSS-Mako Engineering Sdn Bhd, GJA Engineering & Construction and Wessex Water I-Bhd Consortium — are among the 37 companies that responded to the state’s search for partners for the project.
These companies will be working closely with DPZ Asia, which has been appointed the project master planner by the state government.

TSS-Mako Engineering
This company has the combined expertise of three South Korean engineering firms — Handong Engineering & Construction Co Ltd, Korea Engineering Consultants Corp and Yooshin Engineering Corp — which have been involved in water projects such as the South Han River Maintenance, Seoul-Incheon Navigation Channel Project and Gemalink Container Terminal Project Phase One in Vietnam.

COO Ridzlon Kamadin tells City & Country the company will undertake multiple roles, given its expertise in detail design, project construction and monitoring. It will also concentrate on beautification works.

He says: “It is definitely a project that benefits not only the state government but also the people of Selangor. Malaysia has been spending millions on river cleaning and flood mitigation, but we don’t actually see the real value of the river for economic growth. We should look into the success story of Korea when it comes to river rehabilitation.

“With our partners from Korea, we will prepare a comprehensive master plan with the state government and the other parties involved. There’s a mix of local and Korean engineers working together. We will use the same technology that the Koreans used for their Han River. We will also look into water treatment as an alternative source of clean water for the state.”

Selangor, as one of the more developed states in the country, can generate revenue from this project while the people of Selangor will live a healthy lifestyle. Everyone has to work together to succeed in cleaning the Klang River, he says.

GJA Engineering & Construction
The 100% bumiputera-owned company has been involved in government infrastructure developments and private sector township design projects.

Executive chairman Adam Salim (picture) tells City & Country  it will be involved in the design and redevelopment of the Klang River.

“The water quality is not bad. The pollution is [mainly] downstream, and we have identified the sources. We are working with IWK [Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd] for a better sewerage treatment system for the workshops by the river.

“Relocating these workshops will enable IWK to manage the sewerage system better. The education of the public and the workshop owners is equally important to maintain the river,” he says.

GJA Engineering & Construction is also involved as a consultant in the design of hospitals, universities, railway and flood mitigation works in Johor.

Wessex Water I-Bhd

The joint venture between YTL Power International’s Wessex Water and local property developer I-Bhd will be tasked with improving the river quality in the lower reaches of the river, and to provide a water treatment plant using the river as the raw water feed, Wessex Water managing director Gareth Jones says.

“We will be using a wide range of technologies to deliver the project. These will include trash removal, barrier treatments, physico-chemical processes, filtration and disinfection. Clean rivers are the lifeblood of any country,” he tells City & Country.

Wessex Water is one of the 10 largest water and sewerage companies in the UK, serving 2.8 million customers. It operates over 100 water treatment plants and 400 wastewater treatment plants with projects in 49 countries.

I-Bhd is developing the multi-billion ringgit digital I-City in Shah Alam.

Its deputy executive chairman Datuk Lim Kim Hong says the Klang River project will transform the whole area into an economic development corridor and benefit the state.

“This would be a world reference project and we brought in a partner to ensure that the solutions provided would be world-class,” he adds.


This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 798, Mar 22-28, 2010.

SHARE