THE Penang government, through the Flood Mitigation Committee, has approved the RM79.7 million allocation to address flood woes on the Penang mainland.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the mitigation works had begun last year (2018), and the works are scheduled to complete in 2021.
“The flood mitigation works are in north and central Seberang Perai. The mitigation works include building new pump houses, upgrading existing pump houses, and upgrading drains and rivers.
“One of the biggest projects (costing RM40 million) involves building a pump house and upgrading drains to allow smoother flow of water from the Mak Mandin neighbourhood into Sungai Perai.
“Mitigation works have started in March last year (2018) and the project is scheduled to complete in March next year (2020),” Jagdeep told a press conference at the MBSP building in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam, today.
He was commenting on the Oct 8 flood, which inundated several houses in Seberang Perai.
Among the affected areas were Tingkat Mak Mandin 5, Kampung Malaysia, Jalan Bagan Lalang, Lorong Mak Mandin 3, and Rumah Hijau Mak Mandin.
“We have also allocated some RM19 million to address flood problems in Lorong Binjai 6, 7, 8 and 9 and Jalan Binjai.
“These are among the many flood mitigation projects that are ongoing,” he said.
Jagdeep said 215 flood mitigation projects had been completed by the state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) at a total cost of RM107.5 million.
“I have instructed the council and DID to propose more flood mitigation projects,” he said.
Also present were the state DID director Shukri Muslim and MBSP mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis