By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Feb 17: Dredging works costing RM15 million at Sungai Seduan and Sungai Antu will be carried out to tackle flooding problems that often plague the surrounding areas.
According to Sibu Municipal Council (MPS) chairman Clarence Ting in a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) report, the last time dredging work was carried out on Sungai Seduan was in 2011.
“We are pleased with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage’s (DID) agreement to this (dredging work) because 41 per cent of housing areas in Sibu depend on Sungai Seduan for their drainage system,” he said at the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Pelawan branch Chinese New Year gathering on Feb 15.
Dredging work will also be carried out at Sungai Antu as it is also often hit by floods, including around the SMK Kampung Nangka and SJKC Guong Ann areas.
In addition to the dredging works, the government has also approved RM2.5 million to upgrade the 780-metre-long Jalan Ling Kai Cheng as part of efforts to reduce flood risks in the area.
According to Ting, the recent floods showed that the main problem is not only the water level but also the prolonged duration of the water’s stagnancy.
In the latest incident, the floodwaters took between eight and nine days to recede, which he said was an unusually long period.
In another development, the repair work on the collapsed road in the Rantau Panjang Jaya housing estate is expected to cost RM7 million, which will be sourced from the disaster fund.
The repair process will involve installing sheet piling to stabilise the affected area.
The main factor that caused the road to collapse is still under investigation, but soil erosion under the fence along the ditch is believed to be the main contributor.
“We have held an emergency meeting to address this issue and have applied for allocation. Repairing structures like this takes time and cannot be done immediately,” he explained.
In his ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of flooding in Sibu, the government, he said, is also planning to elevate the road in the Pulau Li Hua housing area as part of a project under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).
“We will submit a plan to the government and then upgrade all the roads in the area to ensure that flooding problems can be reduced in the future,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing, and Local Government and Pelawan assemblyman Datuk Michael Tiang Ming Tee was also present. — DayakDaily
