By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 3: Flood mitigation works at Lorong Hua Joo Park 8 here have begun, with a six-month completion date set for Nov 2 of this year.
The flash flood problem at Lorong Hua Joo Park 8, which has been a persistent issue, is now being addressed through a flood mitigation project initiated under the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK-12), with the support of the government, according to Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng.
“The flood is from the road junction until the shophouse area where the project signage is located.
“The cause of the flood is because Hua Joo Park’s main drain not only needs to tackle the catchment for Hua Joo Park but also partial catchment along Jalan Tawi Sli until Jalan Datuk Amar Kalong Ningkan. The estimated upper catchment is around 75 acres.
“Furthermore, the roadside drain depth is shallow and has insufficient capacity. The culvert is also blocked by rubbish and silted with sand and vegetation. So now we are trying to clear out all this,” Wee explained during his Facebook live session after the project handover today at Lorong Hua Joo Park 8.
The mayor went on to say that to overcome the issue, under the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sarawak, the project to upgrade the drains and sewers in Jalan Datuk Amar Kalong Ningkan and Jalan Datuk Tawi Sli will enlarge the existing main storm drain along the right side of Lorong Hua Joo Park 8 and resolve the long-term flood issue.
He added that DID will also introduce a series of on-site detention tanks to store the drain water during the rain.
“For MBKS’ scope after collaboration with DID, the project is under the RMK-12 initiative, which went through open tender and was awarded to SBMJ Engineering Sdn Bhd at a tender price of RM1,198,988.
“The project’s scope includes enlarging and deepening the drain on the left side of Lorong Hua Joo Park, as well as the flooded drain on Jalan Hua Joo Park.
“Construct a new culvert to shorten the water flow distance, construct an onside detention drain, and all the siltation material inside the existing culvert to be clear to increase culvert capacity and better flow.”
Wee further emphasised that every project will inevitably cause some inconvenience and expressed his hope that residents living near the area of work can understand.
“I hope residents cooperate with the contractor so that this project can be completed quickly and smoothly. We hope that once completed, the flooding issue here will be resolved.
“Of course, we are aware that there are other flooding areas where we will attempt to secure funding and do our best to resolve the issue. Next, we’ll reveal a few locations with long-term flooding issues,” he added.
On another note, the mayor mentioned that MBKS will be installing an additional CCTV in the Padungan area due to recent car thefts. — DayakDaily
