Mohamed Razeek (wearing safety helmet) briefing Pua (right) about the culvert construction during a visit to the site.
OWNERS of factories in Tago Industrial Park, where a culvert construction project is ongoing, are worried over possible risk of landslides.
Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Pua Pei Ling said a major landslide in January last year damaged the foundations of two factories located on the hill in Bandar Sri Damansara, Petaling Jaya in Selangor.
She said a lot of soil on the hillside, beside the project, had been lost to erosion since the incident.
“The situation is worse now,” she said expressing concern over the safety of factory workers during a site visit.
She called on project contractor Dhaya Maju Infrastructure (Asia) Sdn Bhd (DMIA), to do more to mitigate the risk.
With Pua during the site visit were DMIA group chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Razeek Hussain and representatives from Gombak Land and District Office (PDTG).
Mohamed Razeek said his team was constantly monitoring the land slope, and no further movements have been detected.
“The existence of vegetation on the land can also help mitigate the impact of rain on the slope, lowering the risk of landslides,” he added.
Pua said considering the expected completion date of the project in August this year, mere slope monitoring was insufficient.
“No one can be certain there will be no landslides during this period,” she said.
One of the main obstacles in resolving the issue, she said, was the unknown ownership of the hillside.
“Only the land owner can direct the factory operators to move elsewhere.
“Therefore, it is crucial to identify who owns the land,” she said, adding that she had also ordered PDTG to identify the land owner.
Pua said she would be holding a meeting with DMIA, Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) and PDTG in two to three weeks to get answers from them.
Mohamed Razeek said the ongoing culvert construction was part of the Klang Valley Double Track project aimed at re-constructing approximately 110km of railway track from Rawang to Salak Selatan.
“The project will upgrade the signalling, communications and electrification systems of 18 KTM Bhd (KTMB) stations.
“With the upgrade, the track will be able to accommodate faster trains with speed of up to 140km/h and tolerate 20 tonnes of axle loads with a train arrival frequency of every seven minutes,” he said.
Razeek added that an estimated RM7mil would be spent to prevent KTMB tracks from being flooded, hence the culvert construction being part of the project.
“The scope of the project also includes upgrading the drainage system and installing two big culverts, one of which is in Bandar Sri Damansara.
“The primary goal of the culverts is to safeguard the railway track’s soil formation from floods and excessive water,” he said.
