RM50mil for projects to tackle Bayan Baru flood woes

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has allocated RM50mil for several short and long-term projects to comprehensively tackle the flood problems which hit the Bayan Baru area recently.

State Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said that following the recent flash floods in the Bayan Baru area, the state government has, through the state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), taken steps to identify the main causes of the floods.

“Among the causes identified by the state DID are the heavy rainfall of over 65mm in certain areas causing a sudden surge in the water levels in the drains.

“The existing capacity of the drains can’t handle the high amount of rain,” he said yesterday reported Bernama.

He said that RM300,000 had been set aside for the short-term projects in Bayan Baru and its surrounding areas.

The amount would be spent on implementing immediate maintenance works in several identified areas, including Sungai Relau, Parit MOX, the Taman Iping 1 Pump House intake, the Permatang Damar Laut estuary, Taman Melati concrete ditch and Parit Cabang Sungai Nibong, he said.

Zairil said the state government would also spend RM365,000 to implement several short-term measures such as the installation of two mobile pump units with a flow rate of 280 litres per second (l/s) in the reservoir near Sungai Relau to help speed up the flow of water from the main drainage in the development area around Jalan Persiaran Mahsuri to Sungai Relau.

As for the long term, he said the state government has planned several flood mitigation projects costing an estimated RM48.1mil, which is currently at the implementation stage.

He said this would involve the construction of a retention pond at the Taman Kejiranan Lintang Nibong under the Penang Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Programme costing RM5.1mil, which is expected to begin in November.

“Then the RM10mil Bayan Baru Phase 2 Flood Mitigation Plan is expected to be tendered in December; the Parit MOX RTB in February 2025 (costing RM5mil); and the Sungai Tiram RTB in April 2025 (costing RM10mil),” he said.