Dr Abdul Rahman (fifth left) shakes hands with Chieng, as Noor Ismail (third left) and others look on.
LIMBANG: The Sarawak government has allocated RM2 million for Northern Region Development Agency (NRDA) to upgrade and develop agriculture activities at the Kubong Agriculture Station here.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail said the money would also be used to build a bridge to connect Kampung Tegarai in Kubong with Kampung Pahlawan in Pandaruan.
“The bridge will be completed on November, and after that, there are plans to build a 2km farm road from Kampung Tegarai to Kampung Pahlawan at a cost of RM200,000,” he spoke during a meeting with the management of Lee Ling Timber Sdn Bhd and the representatives of relevant government agencies, here yesterday.
During the meeting, Dr Abdul Rahman, who is Bukit Kota assemblyman, said the frequent flash floods affecting villages and farms at Jalan Kubong and Kubong Agriculture Station would be a thing of the past as the Sarawak government was very committed to solving the problem once and for all.
“The government wants to make Kubong a major agriculture centre in this district, through (the setting up of a) permanent food production park via fertigation system and open cultivation agriculture concept.
“That’s why the government wanted to replace a wooden bridge in the area into a concrete bridge, and to solve the flash flood issue in the area.”
Dr Abdul Rahman said Lee Ling Timber, under its corporate social responsibility (CSR), had agreed to replace the old wooden bridge into a concrete bridge.
He also said the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) had agreed to widen the river in the area, with an allocation of RM50,000 under the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) grant.
On a related subject, Dr Abdul Rahman encouraged youths and graduates to be involved in the agriculture sector at the permanent food production park.
He said for farmers who did not have land, the government would provide them with land and basic infrastructure at affordable rental rates.
Divisional Public Works Department (JKR) engineer Noor Ismail Razali, DID divisional engineer Hanisah Ahmad, Lee Ling Timber general manager Chieng Kai Tiew and its Limbang manager Kenneth Chieng Siong Woo were also present.