KUCHING: The long-delayed flood mitigation project along Sungai Gersik will be finally implemented soon.
The federal-funded project – a 6.9-acre 2-metre deep detention pond with a 265-metre long drain and a 1.2-metre pipe culvert with a flap gate – will help resolve flash flood issues facing the neighbourhoods along Sungai Gersik, Petra Jaya.
The 11th Malaysia Plan project was approved during Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration before 2016 but was put under review by the PH government after the 14th general election in 2018. It was finally given the green light to resume in 2020.
One of the nine proposed flood mitigation projects under the Sungai Sarawak Integrated River Basin scheme (PLSB), it will take two years to complete and is designed to resolve flash floods in Kampung Boyan, Kampung Gersik and Kampung Surabaya Ulu.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Women’s chief Kho Teck Wan said she, Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, and DBKU engineer Zaidi Pathi had followed up with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) on the progress of the flood mitigation initiatives.
DID Sarawak deputy director Law Wee and his team of engineers and project consultant had taken them to Kampung Gersik to explain how the river improvement works in Sungai Gersik will help resolve flash flood issues.
“The department stressed that although the proposed flood mitigation project will resolve the flash flood issue facing neighbourhoods along Sungai Gersik, it is not designed to prevent floods due to phenomena of high tide and drainage blockage,” she said.
Kho said the department had called the tender for the project in early November, with the assistance of Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian after the latter’s visit to Natural Resource, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“The visit resulted in minister Nik Nazmi following up with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to expedite all necessary processes, including financial and administrative documentation by the ministry.
“The collaboration between Dr Sim and MoF has fast tracked the implementation of this project; now DID Sarawak is finally allowed to call for the tenders for the flood mitigation project,” Kho added.
