The year was 1998 and the worldwide weather pattern was thrown into total chaos by arguably the most serious El Nino effect of the century. The unusually prolonged dry months had resulted in a water crisis unprecedented in scale in the history of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Cries of help fell into the ears of the highest level of administration in the Federal Government. JKR (Cawangan Bekalan Air) responded emphatically by awarding a fast-track turnkey contract to Biwater Shellabear (M) Sdn. Bhd. to design and construct a raw water augmentation system for the new Wangsa Maju Treatment Plant.

The turnkey contractor entrusted the construction of civil and structural components of this all-important contract to Asia Baru Construction Sdn. Bhd. in recognition of their impeccable record in fast-track water supply projects.