Rodziah (right) together with Chok (centre) and Bintulu resident Yakup Kari showing the map depicting flood prone areas in Bintulu.
KUCHING: The Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) and Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Sarawak will be drawing up a new drainage masterplan to replace the current plan that was developed back in 1984.
Once completed, the new masterplan will also act as a guide for developers in Bintulu to plan their projects in a more systematic and effective manner.
“Together with our consultants, we hope it will be able to solve the flood problems in an integrated manner,” said BDA general manager Rodziah Morshidi at a press conference at the State Legislative Assembly building yesterday.
Among the completed studies carried out by the consultants is at Jalan Tun Razak where recommendations involving the construction of flood and tidal gate controls in Taman Istiwajar and Kampung Assyakirin will cost an estimated RM22 million.
“Around 164 families are affected by the flood in both areas every time it rains heavily,” said Rodziah.
She also said the critical period for floods is between December and February each year and during King Tides.
The drainage system in other areas that will be further improved is located along Jalan Sibiyu which is currently experiencing rapid housing development, she said.
“Currently there are 12 outlet drains along Jalan Sibiyu while the catchment area in Jalan Sibiyu is 800ha. The consultant has also proposed 14 outlet drains and nine secondary drains which are estimated to cost RM92 million and RM55 million, respectively,” she added.
Under package one of the project which costs around RM12 million, four outlet drains which are currently under construction are expected to be completed in July 2016.
The remainder of the drain constructions will be built based on priority and availability of funds.
DID state director Chok Moi Soon who was present said that they have applied for a RM100 million allocation from the federal government under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
“In Bintulu, 11 areas have been identified to be flood prone areas due to various issues such as bottle necks and under capacity drains because of the rapid pace of developments,” said Chok.
He also said that if the federal government have decided to allocate the full amount, projects will be able to start in 2016 and will take around three to four years to complete.
In 2014, DID was allocated RM500,000 to improve some bottleneck areas at Sungai Sibiyu while this year, the project was extended to include a water retention pond at the University Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu campus.