GEORGE TOWN: Huge sand-filled containers stacked as high as a single-storey house are being buried in Batu Ferringhi beach to slow erosion that has persisted for more than five years.
These containers are being installed in trenches, with the stacks measuring 5m from the excavated base.
The work forms part of four projects costing RM2.5mil to protect sections of the beach while a longer-term solution, expected to be completed in October 2030, is being prepared.
State infrastructure committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said yesterday that the sand containers and work to strengthen the eroded beach slopes would provide medium-term protection.
The first RM500,000 phase, covering 44m of beach, was completed on Aug 10.
A second phase costing the same amount covered an adjoining 50m stretch. This is expected to finish by Dec 7.
A separate RM1mil project would protect about 150m of shoreline and is scheduled for completion next month.
Another RM500,000 project along a further 50m stretch is due to be done by Dec 7.
Zairil said the sand containers were being arranged in two layers to make them more stable against waves, following assessments of earlier installations.
The measures would provide temporary protection while a permanent solution was being designed.
For the RM61mil long-term project, he said a consultant was appointed on July 30 to study the problem and prepare detailed designs.
The proposed measures were still being considered and would be discussed at a forthcoming meeting with those affected.
Construction was expected to begin in October 2027 and take three years.
The federally funded project covered a 7km stretch between Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah. Proposed works included breakwaters and structures to channel river water into the sea.
The Star had reported about visible erosion at Batu Ferringhi in April 2021 when pandemic restrictions left the beach largely deserted.
In 2022, contractors buried 700 sandbags along a 250m stretch to restore the gently sloping beach. Within three months, waves stripped away the sand again.
By May this year, erosion extended over 1km.
Repeated waves exposed and tore earlier sandbags, washing away their contents. The retreating beach left trees vulnerable to collapse and raised safety concerns for visitors.
