Market information: Privatisation Of Solid Waste Management Will Raise Standard Of Service, Says Muhyiddin

Stock market information for Malaysia market where the solid management is going to privatize..
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UTRAJAYA, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- The privatisation of solid waste management will raise the quality of the service in the country to a higher level and bring it to par with global standard, says Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The move would also enable the selected concessionaire companies to make large scale investments in the latest technologies, modern machinery and equipment as well as highly skilled work force towards offering a more efficient service.

Muhyiddin said this during a press conference after witnessing the signing of a new Concession Agreement and a Tripartite Agreement between the Federal Government and three concessionaires here in conjunction with the full privatisation of the management of solid waste and public cleaing service, here Monday.

"With the (concession) agreement for a 22-year period, they would be able to for example, increase the number of compactors' (a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction), other machineries and trained workforce as well as make available an adequate number of waste bins.

The three concessionaire companies are Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, which will manage the central and east zones comprising the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan, SWM Environment Sdn Bhd which will manage the southern zone covering Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan while Environment Idaman Sdn Bhd will manage the northern zones of Kedah and Perlis.

Muhyiddin also expressed confidence that the three states -- Selangor, Pulau Pinang and Perak -- will also enforce the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleanliness Act 2007 (Act 672) in the near future.

He said the new agreement had also brought to an end the uncertain 14-year interim waiting period for the concessionaires.

Prior to the new agreement, the companies had been quite reluctant to invest millions of ringgit to expand their services as there were no solid guarantee from the government, he said.

"The change has been made taking into account various aspects including the policy frame, institutions, law and the interest of the people. The government also took into account the limited financial capacity of the companies to manage solid waste in a more efficient manner."

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister said the full privatisation of the service was also part of the Malaysian government's voluntary commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2020.

He said under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the government had spent about RM958.7 million to manage solid waste, but in 2010 alone, the government had to spend RM303 million which was one third of the total amount spent throughout the 9MP period.

He added that the cost of solid waste management had continued to strain the government considering that the waste produced by the people had gone up from 19 thousand tonnes daily in 2005 to 27 thousand tonnes a day presently.

This clearly indicates a serious situation considering that many of the solid waste disposal sites in the country are not sanitary landfills.

Source: Bernama