Dr Annuar (fourth left), Dr Sim (third right) and others at the ongoing phase 3 project site.
SIBU (Aug 10): The state government has agreed in principle to fund and carry out Phase 4 of the flood mitigation project in Sibu.
Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee said that the project costing about RM120 million would be carried out under the 12th Malaysian Plan.
“The project would include one pumping station next to the Paramount Hotel and the remaining stretch of Lanang Road will be raised up to act as a bund,” he told reporters during the visit at the site of the ongoing Phase 3 flood mitigation project at the Sg Bakong Road today.
Dr Annuar, who is also Nangka assemblyman, told reporters that the consultants would be appointed by the end of this year.
According to him, the flood mitigation project for Sibu started in 2008, which involved the building of bunds by raising the road level along the river and building pump stations and retention pond.
“Phase 1 and 2 have been completed with the road level from Upper Lanang to the junction of Lanang Road and Ek Dee Road and three pumping stations have been built.
“Two more pumping stations were built under the federal stimulus package few years ago.
“Phase 3 is ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2022. It involves the building of two pumping stations and the raising of the road level along the village beside Batang Igan. These three phases were funded by the federal government,” he said.
Meanwhile, state Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) director Dato Chok Moi Soon said the Phase 4 project was a tried and tested method to prevent river water from overflowing into the low-lying area.
He said the land level of low-lying areas in Sibu is 2.5 meter and the Rejang River’s water level can range from 2.2m to 2.8m during high tide.
“When there is heavy rainfall during high tide, the low-lying areas will be flooded. The bund will act as a barrier to the high tide water from flowing into the low-lying area and at the same time the pumps will pump out the rainwater.
“There will be retention pond behind the pumping stations to store excess rainwater before the pump can clear them,” he said.
Chok also said that river dredging was not the solution to the problem of flooding at low lying area.
He said this had been tried in Sibu at Pulau Kerto at the cost of more than RM10 million.
“The dredged area was silted up again within few months,” he said.
Meanwhile, also present were Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, senator Robert Lau Hui Yew, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting, Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) chairman Sempurai Petrus Ngelai, SRDC deputy chairman Wong Ching Yong and political secretary to the chief minister Michael Tiang.