KUCHING, May 9: The Sungai Sarawak Integrated River Basin Development Project (PLSB) worth RM150 million is expected to start construction by the end of this year.
Michael Kong Feng Nian, special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, said the news was conveyed during a meeting with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sarawak recently.
“The project has been delayed for many years now and DID Sarawak had resubmitted a Notice of Change (NOC) for the PLSB project.
“Only with approval to the NOC will a public tender then be called for the nine project locations, of which the entire exercise may take a few months.
“This means physical construction can only start some time towards the end of 2023, with the project expected to finish in two to three years,” he said in a statement today.
Following this, Kong said he will assist by writing to the relevant ministries to seek their assistance so that approval can be granted as soon as possible.
The PLSB Sungai Sarawak project covers nine project locations including drainage upgrades in five locations, namely Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), the government quarters at Jalan Tun Jugah, Batu Lintang area, SK Muara Tuang, Samarahan and also the drainage along the Jalan Kuching-Samarahan Expressway.
This also includes building flood barriers along Sg Gersik, Sg Sinjan and also dredging and deepening of Sungai Tengah and Sungai Minjab.
For flood-prone areas such as Iris Garden, Borneo Garden and Jalan Burung Lilin, Kong said DID Sarawak has assured that actions have been taken to maintain the main drainage outlets.
If need be, additional works will be undertaken to upgrade and improve these main drainage outlets.
However, in cases of flash flooding, Kong was informed that one of the causes would be the slow discharge of water from the secondary drainage system, which are under the local authority’s jurisdiction.
“Amongst the problems that the secondary drainage system faces are shallow and outdated drains, or clogged drains.
“On this issue, I strongly urge the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) to grant the necessary allocations to the local councils to improve the secondary drainage system.
“At the same time, these local councils must ensure that their respective contractors perform their duties properly which include the proper cleaning and flushing of these drains,” he added. – DayakDaily
