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PAPAR – The federal government has allocated RM34 million to implement a flood mitigation project to deal with the flood problems in this district and surrounding areas which will begin early next year.
Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the scope of the project is to build a 1,150-m-long beach barrier structure and erosion protection structure in Kg Kuala Dalam here.
“Apart from that, the project also involves the construction of three units of water control gates and deepening of the area where boats anchor. This project is expected to be completed within three years.
“The flood mitigation project in Kg Kuala Dalam will be carried out with site cleaning, dredging and land reclamation and construction of coastal erosion control structures as well as deepening the mouth of Sg Papar,” he said after inspecting the project site here today.
He said the erosion problem at the beach in Kg Kuala Dalam has been happening for more than 10 years and became more serious in the last two years.
“This matter is causing problems for the residents who mostly work as fishermen... almost 250 houses with about 1,000 residents here are facing the risk of coastal erosion and flooding,” he added.
At the same time, Tuan Ibrahim said his ministry through the Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) had also planned to implement several other projects to overcome the flood problems in the Membakut area, including the proposed construction of the Sg Membakut river floodway to Sg Binsuluk by dredging the rivers in the areas at risk for floods as well as the construction of bank stabilisation structures.
“We propose to implement the Sg Padas Beaufort conservation project to overcome the problem of river bank erosion in Kg Lubuk Hilir, Kg Lupak and Kg Suasa through the construction of bank stabilisation structures and this project has been requested in the Third Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan,” he said.
He said his ministry through the JPS is also carrying out the Membakut River Basin Flood Mitigation Master Plan Development Study which involves four rivers namely Sg Membakut, Sg Damit, Sg Terusan River and Sg Binsuluk.
“This study aims to identify the problem of flooding in the areas involved and plan short-, medium- and long-term solutions. It is currently at the follow-up stage as of August 1 and is expected to be completed on February 1, 2023 at a cost of RM476,171,” he said. – Bernama, August 20, 2022