Banking on rivers’ potential

A bird’s eye view of Sungai Klang from the Brickfields site. — Photos: AZLINA ABDULLAH, LOW LAY PHON, FAIHAN GHANI/The Star

RIDING a gondola in Venice, Italy, is a must for anyone visiting the floating city. The activity is so popular that other cities of the world with living rivers are also banking on this golden tourism tool to create their very own water city.

Cities in the east which have borrowed the tag are Srinagar in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Lijiang in China, Hanoi in Vietnam, Bangkok in Thailand, Manila in the Philippines and many more.

So it is not surprising that Kuala Lumpur, with its Sungai Klang and Sungai Gombak, aspires to have its very own “Venetian” experience with gondolas or water taxis incorporated into the multi-million ringgit River of Life (RoL) project.

An aerial view of part of Sungai Klang in Brickfields where the second collapsible weir is being built for the River of Life project.

While the RoL is about cleansing (RM3.4bil) and beautifying (RM1bil), other integral aspects of the project are commercialising and promoting tourism, which comes later.

Once the project is completed, land banks along the riverfront will fetch a hefty sum and help the Government recoup money that was spent on cleaning up and beautifying the rivers and their surrounding areas.

The KL River City (KLRC) project is one of the projects in the pipeline that will help revitalise and rejuvenate some of the riverfronts.

 

A closer look at collapsible weir at Daya Bumi. Work will be completed in 2 weeks.

Developer Ekovest Bhd is working to transform a 2.5km stretch of Sungai Gombak into a riverfront esplanade in some parts of Kuala Lumpur.

A Federal Territories Ministry source said the KLRC project involved utilising Sungai Gombak as a channel for people to take a leisurely cruise, stop along the way, enjoy the cafes and restaurants along scheduled stops and experience the local culture.

“At the moment, the cruise only involves a 2.5km stretch from the Pekeliling area right up to Masjid Jamek under the KLRC project, but this may include the entire RoL stretch right up to Mid Valley in the future,” added the source.

Workers using barriers to block the river flow at the Dayabumi site.

Kuala Lumpur the “Venice of the East”?

Part of the beautification project under the RoL involves the construction of two collapsible weirs which will be built across Sungai Klang.

The project under the Federal Territory Drainage and Irrigation Department (FTDID) is two-pronged – firstly it is meant to cover the concrete banks or river berm by raising the water level through use of the weirs.

“The ugly concrete walls and graffiti will not be visible.

“This is also crucial for the Blue Pool, located at the heart of the Masjid Jamek confluence, to work. The Blue Pool is also equipped with dancing symphony fountain, blue corridor, fog and lighting effects, and water level must be raised for the aesthetic value,” said the source.

During the launch of the Blue Pool project at Masjid Jamek by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently, the river water was raised using barriers manually. The weirs were still being constructed at the time.

Mohd Nasir says the project was delayed due to various factors including the challenges faced when diverting water for other RoL projects such as the Blue Pool.

When contacted, Drainage and Irrigation Department deputy director-general 1 Datuk Mohd Nasir Mohd Noh confirmed that the weirs were being constructed for that purpose.

“There are two weirs, one is located at Dayabumi and will take another two weeks to be completed, while the second weir is located at Brickfields and will be ready next month,” he said of the project that costs RM35mil.

Mohd Nasir admitted that the project was delayed due to various factors including the challenges faced when diverting water for the other RoL projects such as the Blue Pool.

“There were also issues with some utility companies which hampered and delayed our work; but we are committed to see this through,” he said.

The weirs are being built to be collapsible so as not to impede the flow of the river during floods. It will also make the river wider upstream, allowing for recreational boating activities.

A total of RM3.4bil has been allocated to clean 110km of Sungai Klang and Sungai Gombak from its current Class III-Class IV water quality (not suitable for body contact) to Class IIB (suitable for body and recreational usage) by 2020.

As of August 2017, 81% of the river-stretch was cleaned and 49% beautification works were completed.