By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, March 12: Sewerage Services Department director Lau Hieng Ung is delighted with shopowners in Padungan for cooperating with contractors connecting sewerage from their properties to the main trunk tunnel.
According to him, the current Package 2, which includes Petra Jaya and providing connectivity to the shophouses in Padungan, is expected to be completed in 2023.
“In the Kuching South City area, we need to connect 1,800 properties. As of now, we have connected 403 shops,” Lau told DayakDaily today.
He stressed that unlike under Package 1, there were several property owners who refused to connect their property to the main trunk tunnel.
“It is unfortunate that they have refused because if they were to connect it themselves, it would easily cost between RM15,000 and RM20,000 per property. But under Package 2, the property owners have been very cooperative. And on our part, we keep engaging with them from time to time if they have any queries,” he said.
As for the Petra Jaya side, Lau said the contractor had completed 14 of the 47 major manholes, where construction of another five manholes is ongoing. Overall progress of package 2 is 11.3 per cent.
Package 2 costs RM750 million to implement. Work on the project has progressed well ahead of schedule since it started in 2017.
Upon completion in six years’ time, it will be able to provide sewerage services to up to 40,000 population equivalent (PE) in Petra Jaya areas such as Jalan Astana and Kampung Gita.
The current Package 2 is part of the Kuching centralised sewerage system, which commenced with the commissioning of a masterplan in 2003 and later with the physical implementation of phase 1 in 2008.
Lau said the technology applied here was based on an advanced Japanese tunnelling technology used by Kumpulan-Nishimatsu-Hock Seng Lee Consortium. It successfully completed Phase 1 at a cost of RM530 million several years ago.
The areas covered under the completed Package 1 project are mostly commercial lots and hotels in the city’s golden triangle and covers Satok, Wisma Saberkas right up to Padungan area, which includes housing areas, commercial centres and hotels. Its completion in 2015 has enabled the department to provide sewerage services for up to 100,000 PE.
The sewerage service process both the black and grey water from the city’s main centre and treat them at the sewerage plant near the former Zecon Plaza. The treatment plant has been operational with a capacity of up to 100,000 PE. Black water refers to wastewater from the septic tanks while grey water refers to water discharge from kitchens, bathrooms and washing areas.
The sewerage system will collect and treat both the black and grey water to standard A, which would then be released to the Sarawak River. This will ensure that the Sarawak River will remain healthy. — DayakDaily
