KUCHING: The area, constituting 10 per cent of Kuching City, covered by the state-of-the-art Phase 1 of the Kuching City Centralised Sewerage System (KCCSS) constitutes the most polluted part of the city, disclosed State Sewerage Services Department director Lau Hieng Ung.
He said the project which commenced on Oct 15, 2008 and costing some RM500 million was finally completed on Jan 31, 2015.
“The Phase I project was vital to complete as the area was considered having a high population density and thus contributed to the high level of waste. Most of the major hotels and shopping complexes in Kuching City Centre have been connected to the KCCSS under Package 1. That being said, we are very happy that it has finally been completed,” Lau told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He, however, admitted that the project was nine months behind schedule due mainly to the soil condition but without additional cost.
Lau added the wastes from these properties in the city centre are processed by the sewerage treatment plant, costing some RM100 million to build, near Zecon Toll Plaza, which was completed in July last year.
“Our next target now is moving northward to Petra Jaya once the necessary funding is available. But at this point of time, I can’t comment as the funding has not been approved yet,” said Lau.
Phase I covers the area from Satok, Wisma Saberkas right up to Padungan area including housing areas, commercial centres and major hotels. It was undertaken by Kumpulan-Nishimatsu-Hock Seng Lee Consortium.
Lau assured that his department would monitor the project for the next six months for any defect as it was still under the purview of the contractor.
“Certain stretches of roads in the city have been affected by the project, so we would like the contractor to rectify them,” he stressed.
Elaborating further, Lau said his department would continue to extend the underground sewerage service to other areas to gradually rehabilitate Sarawak River by tackling the main causes of its pollution, which are ‘grey’ and ‘black’ water from residential and commercial areas. (Black water refers to waste water from septic tanks while grey water refers to water discharged from kitchens, bathrooms and washing areas).
Currently, the sewerage plant near the Zecon Toll Plaza processes only 68,000 ‘population equivalent’ (PE) and when fully operational it is capable of processing up to 100,000 PE.
Under Phase I, a massive underground tunnel with a total length of 64.4 km and with a depth of six metres to 27 metres (at the intake point where the waste treatment will be treated at the wastewater treatment plant) has been completed.
“We are very thankful to the people for their patience all these while for all the inconveniences especially motorists and other road users. But ultimately we are making Kuching a healthier and cleaner city with the state-of-the-art centralised sewerage system,” said Lau.