Malaysian firm to export water

Malaysian firm to export water

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A Malaysian company plans to sell drinking water from the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia to West Asia and Africa, officials and news reports said yesterday.

Ambangan Selasih Sdn. Bhd., a private firm in the northeastern state of Trengganu, will export about 39 million tons of water annually from the state's Kenyir Lake from 1996, officials said.

The water will be sold to West Asian and African states "badly in need of clean drinking water" first and later to other countries, Wan Mohktar Ahmad, chief minister of Trengganu, was quoted as saying by the Business Times financial daily.

Mokhtar said Ambangan Selasih would covert oil tankers to carry the water in a joint-venture with the Trengganu government. The project is expected to cost 1.6 billion ringgit (US$640 million), officials said.