By Geryl Ogilvy
KUCHING, Nov 28: Flash flooding in the city centre will be a thing of the past once the drainage upgrading project is fully completed by November next year.
Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) has embarked on a three-phase RM7 million project along Jalan Masjid, Jalan Market and Lebuh Java to have surface water flow directly to Sarawak River without restrictions.
Its Datuk Bandar, Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai, said the first two phases of this initiative, which started on Jan 18 this year, have been completed.
Work on Phase 3 has reached the Jalan Masjid Health Clinic area, and the final stage of this project is expected to wrap up within a year’s time.
“The first and second phases of the project have been completed, but we need to complete the last stage of this monsoon drainage project to enable water to flow smoothly into the river.
“At the moment, flash floods still hit the city centre due to the high volume of rainwater that could not be contained by the existing drainage system.
“Once the third phase is completed by November next year, we are confident that flash floods in the city centre will be a thing of the past,” Abdul Wahap told reporters after the DBKU Integrity and Innovation Day at its headquarters here today.
He was asked to comment on the recent flash flood that hit the city centre on Nov 22 following a downpour for about an hour.
Abdul Wahap acknowledged that heavy rain during the monsoon season had affected the progress of the project, which was initially slated to be completed by January next year.
He added that DBKU, as one of the local authorities administering the city, would continue to monitor the flash flood situation in Kuching, particularly in the central business district.
Meanwhile, the flash flood that hit on Nov 22 not only affected the city centre, including Padang Merdeka and Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) area, but several other localities as well, including Kampung Sinar Budi, Jalan Bentara in Semariang and Kampung Tabuan Dayak. — DayakDaily
