UCHING, Jan 10: Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) will open a tender for a “rescue contractor” to intervene and continue the ‘sick project’ involving the long overdue drainage upgrades at Jalan Masjid, Jalan Market, and Lebuh Java.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen in a statement today said these upgrades are under the Phase 3 drainage upgrading works in Padang Merdeka and its vicinity to mitigate flash floods in the area, which was supposedly scheduled to finish in January 2019.
“It is expected that the tender will be called within the next two weeks and the tender process will take up to two months so that the physical commencement of the project will be done as early as March 2022,” he said.
Today, Dr Yii together with Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong met with DBKU mayor Datu Junaidi Reduan and his officers to discuss and get the latest updates on the progress of the long overdue drainage upgrades at Jalan Masjid, Jalan Market, and Lebuh Java.
Dr Yii disclosed that since early December 2021, DBKU and their consultants have done a site evaluation to determine the current condition of the site, the viability of current work done and even an evaluation of the safety measures in the area to evaluate the site’s current situation and required specifications in order for “rescue-work to progress”.
He said DBKU is targeting the completion of the project and a public handover as early as June 2022.
“The mayor has given his assurance that they have been looking into this issue urgently and a taskforce will continue to monitor and act if the project falls behind schedule again and also to ensure the safety and security of the road users are upheld,” he added.
Dr Yii noted, the delay of this chronic “sick project” for more than two years right in the middle of the city has significantly affected the people working and doing business in the area, and even posed a threat to the safety and security of road users in the area.
“We had requested for the urgent intervention of the DBKU mayor into resolving this issue quickly,” he said.
Dr Yii pointed out that based on the explanation by the council, the previous contractor was officially terminated on Sept 30, 2021 due to non-performance and Non-Conformance Report (NCR) that were not properly addressed.
He said a special task-force was also set up to address any disputes including legal and contractual disputes due to the termination of the contract so that it does not delay the project any longer nor jeopardise the project’s safety and security.
“We raised the issue of the safety of the current construction site and urge DBKU to address it by increasing necessary safety barriers, increase lighting in the area and also temporarily resurfacing the roads especially at the road diversion in front of Klinik Kesihatan Jalan Masjid even before the tender process and physical construction is resumed.
“We also raised to the mayor the difficulties faced by the business owners in the area and request them to consider some form of aid or compensation due to the long-delayed project that has significantly affected them,” he said.
Dr Yii We also expressed his gratitude for the openness of DBKU to have a dialogue with them as all parties play a part to not just monitor the progress of the project, but also to properly inform the public for the good and convenience of the people in Kuching.
“I strongly hope that this “sick project” will get its proper medicine as soon as possible so that the disease will not affect the people or cause more harm to those around it,” he said. — DayakDaily
