KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): The federal and Selangor state governments are expected to sign a supplementary agreement today that would effectively put an end to the Selangor water impasse that has been dragging on for more than eight years.

According to sources close to the matter, the event is to be witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin is also the chairman of the Special Cabinet Committee on Selangor Water Issues.

One source said that Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali and Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili are expected to attend the signing ceremony. The event that will also be attended by the Selangor exco will be held at Muhyiddin's office in Putrajaya this afternoon, the source added.

This confirms a report published by The Edge Financial Daily on June 25, that a supplementary agreement will be signed by both, the federal and state governments.

According to the report, the signing of the supplementary agreement will see the state maintaining ownership of its water assets and Putrajay proceeding with the long-delayed development of the Langat 2 water treatment plant project.

The report quoting a source said that the federal government has conceded most of the key points of contention by Azmin in the master agreement that have stalled efforts to finalise the state's water restructuring.

"A key contention was that ownership of land that the water assets sit on remains with the state government post-restructuring as opposed to the federal  government taking over all assets for free," the source said.

The report also mentioned that the ownership of assets such as the Semenyih and Bukit Nanas water treatment plants will also remain under the Selangor government under the supplementary agreement.

In May, Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili had announced that both the federal and Selangor governments had  agreed to resolve the Selangor water impasse within two months.

According to the minister, the Selangor government had promised to honour all  the commitments made to expedite the issuance of the necessary approvals for permits and land required for the Langat 2 project and its distribution system.