5 Water Firms Demand Rm254 Mil Compensation From Sabah Govt

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KOTA KINABALU: Five water firms have sued the Sabah government for undue termination of their contracts
The five companies — Arawira Sdn Bhd, Yuda Water Sdn Bhd, BYT Vision Sdn Bhd, Harmony Water Sdn Bhd and Sahabat Megajuta Sdn Bhd — filed the case at the High Court here seeking damages totalling nearly RM254 million
Another company, Akal Kukuh Sdn Bhd, is also mulling filing a suit soon
While Arawira filed two suits seeking damages of RM30.9 million and RM37.9 million, Yuda Water demanded RM51.1 million, BYT Vision RM42.8 million, Harmony Water RM30.2 million and Sahabat Megajuta RM60.9 million as compensation
In its statement of claim, Arawira said its water treatment plants at Kudat’s Milau and Sandakan’s Sigaliud fully complied with the terms of the concession agreement
The company claimed that the Sabah government failed to give any reasons for terminating the contracts
The Water Department also refused to meet the companies for a smooth handover of the treatment plants
Arawira named Sabah Water Department director Amarjit Singh and the state government as the first and second defendants in its suit
Yuda Water, BYT Vision, Harmony Water and Sahabat Megajuta also made similar claims
Last December, the state government had decided to terminate the contracts of six companies effective Jan 15, 2019
Peter Anthony, the state infrastructure development minister, said the decision was taken as the government could not afford to pay the charges that were “too high”
He said the operations of the 58 treatment plants would be taken over by Sabah Water Department
The firms have 13 years and five months left in the concession. -FMT

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