DAP wants flood mitigation project expedited

(From left) Kong, Chong, Dr Yii (second right), and Yong (right) in a photo call with a representative of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.

KUCHING (Jan 25): Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak urges both the federal and state governments to expedite the RM150-million flood mitigation project.

“This project appears to have been overlooked by the federal and state governments, and that the open tender of these separate flood mitigation projects had been delayed time and again,” said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii in statement yesterday.

Earlier yesterday, Dr Yii along with DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, his special assistant Michael Kong and Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong paid a courtesy visit to Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to follow up on the progress of the project.

Dr Yii said the mitigation project serves as a long-term measure to address the flood issues in Bandar Kuching and Stampin.

He said the project, known as Pembangunan Lembangan Sungai Bersepadu (PLSB) Sungai Sarawak, covers nine project locations including the upgrading of drainage in five locations – namely Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), the government quarters at Jalan Tun Jugah, Batu Lintang area, SK Muara Tuang, Samarahan and also the drainage along Jalan Kuching-Samarahan Expressway.

Besides that, there will be projects to build flood barriers along Sg Gersik, Sg Sinjan and also dredging and deepening of Sungai Tengah and Sungai Minjab, he added.

“This is a follow-up meeting with the department to find out more on the progress of this important project,” he said, adding that DID Sarawak is a state department and is given the authority to carry out the implementation and monitoring of the project.

Dr Yii claimed that the federal funding was released at the end of 2018 after an initial review as announced by the then minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar, and that the physical construction of the project was supposed to start in 2021 and expected to take about four years.

However, based on the latest updates, the project has been delayed even further with the award of tender to the engineering consultant Jurutera Jasa only done in February 2020 to do the initial planning and drawings before a surveyor was selected in April 2021.

“Currently all plans and drawing have been completed and submitted for approval by the Sarawak Planning Authority (SPA) at the end of 2021.

“Only with the approval of SPA and the completion of the Value Engineering (VE) will the tender then be called for the nine project locations which may happen around May or April 2022. This means physical construction can only start at the end of 2022, with the project expected to finish in three to four years,” he pointed out.

As such, he expressed dissatisfaction with the delay and urged them to take all steps to pressure the relevant government agencies including SPA to expedite the necessary approvals so that the tender can be called soon so that the physical construction can commence and be finished as soon as possible for the convenience of the public.

“We also raised the issues of flash flood in different areas around our constituency including the need for the Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho drainage improvement work to be done as well as the proposed construction of a barrage near Sungai Tabuan as a more effective solution to resolve flooding in areas such as Jln Foochow and even Sg Apong.

“We will continue to monitor and push for the process to be expedited so that it will not cause too much inconvenience to the public. I will be also putting in a question to Parliament to seek an answer and clarification for the delay of the implementation of the PLSB and demand for it to be prioritised and neglected no longer. Such delay is unacceptable as it burdens the public and caused additional troubles especially during the monsoon season,” he said.

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