River deepening works, dam and retention pond to tackle Taman Malihah flood woes

Zaiedi (left), Kho (third left), Tan Kai (right) and others photographed during the site visit to Taman Malihah on Oct 30, 2023.

KUCHING, Oct 30: Proposed works to widen and deepen Sungai Tengah and Sungai Minjap near Matang with 10-metre and 20-metre base width respectively, is expected to address flood woes at Taman Malihah.

Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan said apart from the river deepening works, Jalan Syn San Too A will be raised and a dam will be built along the river behind Taman Malihah.

“A retention pond along the boundary of Taman Malihah will be built as well (to store excess water during potential flash floods).

“This whole project which will take about two years, will resolve flash flood issues in Taman Malihah,” she said in a statement today.

The river deepening is among projects under the RM150 million Sungai Sarawak Integrated River Basin Development Project (PLSB) funded by the federal government to address longstanding flood issues in Kuching and Samarahan.

Kho joined Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Tan Kai, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) deputy mayor Dato Zaiedi Suhaili on a visit to the project site today.

In a previous report dated Oct 29, Kho has stated that the Sarawak Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) will call for tenders for the projects under PLSB Sungai Sarawak early next month (November 2023).

The PLSB Sungai Sarawak project was approved under the 11th Malaysia Plan with a ceiling cost of RM150 million, to address longstanding flood issues in Kuching and Samarahan.

However, the project was placed under review by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government after the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018. After much delay, the project was given the green light to resume in 2020.

The project encompasses nine sub-projects, namely drainage upgrade at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), drainage upgrade at the government quarters at Jalan Tun Jugah, flood barriers at Sg Gersik, flood barriers at Sg Sinjan, dredging and deepening of Sungai Tabuan, drainage upgrade at Jalan Batu Lintang, drainage upgrade at SK Muara Tuang, drainage upgrade along Jalan Kuching-Samarahan Expressway, as well as dredging and deepening of Sungai Tengah and Sungai Minjap, Matang. — DayakDaily