By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, April 2: About 100 houses in Kampung Muara Tebas here will no longer be at risk of floods during high tides with the completion of a one-kilometre seawall project which construction is expected to start this year.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the project is currently in the planning stage and is expected to be tendered in September this year.
He explained that the project was initially approved by the Federal government through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) in 2018 with an estimated cost of RM25 million.
“However, due to a change of government, the project was cancelled by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government with the excuse of ‘no money’.
“Alhamdulillah, under the new (Perikatan Nasional) government today, we managed to retrieve back the allocation for us to continue with the project, which has been cancelled five years ago,” he said after listening to a DID briefing on the seawall project at Kampung Muara Tebas here today.
Wan Junaidi, who is also Santubong MP, further said that upon completion, the seawall will also serve as a waterfront that can open up economic opportunities in the area.
The project is among six erosion prevention projects planned for implementation in Santubong parliamentary constituency with a total allocation of RM58 million.
The other projects are implemented in Muara Sungai Sematan, Kampung Beradek Semilang, Muara Sungai Buntal and Muara Sungai Bako.
Sarawak DID director Ahmad Denney Ahmad Fauzi and DID Coastal Zone Management Division director Zainalfikry Daud were among those present.– DayakDaily
