TAPAH: The Housing and Local Government Ministry is carrying out a three main phases to rebuild the areas affected by the devastating gas pipeline fire incident in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on April 1.
Its Minister Nga Kor Ming said that the area has now entered the recovery phase after he visited the site of the incident on Wednesday (April 9).
In a press conference following the ministry’s Sentuhan Kasih 3.0 Programme at the Tapah Road Public Market on Thursday (April 10), he explained that the ministry had set up a special task force on the day of the incident to initiate recovery efforts.
"The first phase, which involved rescue operations, has been completed. The second phase, the recovery work, will begin this weekend, with over 2,000 personnel from SWCorp, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department and local authorities will be mobilised for cleanup efforts on Saturday and Sunday," he said.
He also noted that the final phase, construction, would be the most challenging, as 219 houses were affected, 81 of which were completely destroyed and required immediate repairs.
"I submitted the action plan for reconstruction to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday through a special note to the Cabinet. I hope construction work can begin as soon as possible after discussions with the Selangor Menteri Besar and Petronas," he said.
Nga added that the Prime Minister would announce the decision on the reconstruction of the area.
He added that the Madani Government was deeply concerned about the recovery process in the affected areas and was committed to rebuilding them as thoroughly as possible.
The Housing Ministry previously announced that a special task force prepared the action plan for the repair and reconstruction of the affected houses and submitted it to the Prime Minister yesterday.
Repair and reconstruction would commence as soon as the plan was approved.
The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which broke out around 8.10am on April 1, sent flames more than 30 metres into the sky, with temperatures soaring to 1,000 degrees Celsius. It took nearly eight hours for the blaze to be fully extinguished. – Bernama
