Kota Kinabalu: Long-awaited efforts to address flooding and river silting along Sungai Rampayan are set to gain momentum, with immediate improvement works expected to be completed this month and the RM46.8 million Phase Two project scheduled to begin next year.
Sepanggar Member of Parliament, Datuk Ts Mustapha Sakmud said several measures had been identified following a site visit involving the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and the project contractor, following villagers’ appeals to accelerate the works, particularly Phase Two.
Among the immediate measures are demolishing the old bridge near SK Rampayan to improve water flow, dredging around the bridge and addressing sand runoff from quarry operations in Mansiang.
“We will demolish the old bridge near SK Rampayan so that water can flow more freely. Dredging will also be carried out to ensure the river’s flow is not obstructed,” he said.
Mustapha said the Department of Environment would also be asked to meet the quarry operator in Mansiang to find ways to prevent sand from quarry operations from flowing into the river.
He warned that continued sand accumulation could undermine dredging efforts and cause the river to become shallow again.
“We can dredge the river, but if the sand runoff from the quarry is not controlled, the river will become shallow again,” he said.
On the project timeline, Mustapha said DID and contractor had indicated that the ongoing works should be completed by the end of November.
He also urged the contractor to complete Phase One, which is about 95 percent complete, by the end of this year to enable the DID to take over and carry out scheduled river maintenance.
He said the remaining five per cent of work should not pose a major obstacle to meeting the year-end target.
Meanwhile, Phase Two has been brought forward from the Third Rolling Plan (RP3) to the Second Rolling Plan (RP2), with implementation expected to begin in 2027.
Mustapha said a contractor had already been appointed, but existing unauthorised water-pipe and electricity connections needed to be resolved before work could proceed.
While water supply connections were not expected to present a major obstacle, he said the electricity issue required coordination with Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to ensure the contractor’s workers could carry out their duties safely and avoid accidents.
He thanked the federal government, particularly the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for helping to accelerate Phase Two following the latter’s visit to the area last year.
Under the funding arrangements, the state government has allocated RM2.8 million for dredging along a two-kilometre stretch of the river, while the RM46.8 million Phase Two project will be funded by the federal government.
Mustapha said expediting the works was crucial to addressing the long-standing concerns of residents living along Sungai Rampayan, while ensuring that river maintenance could be carried out systematically to prevent recurring silting and flooding.
