Fed govt will allocate RM150 million for Sungai Pinang Flood mitigation project

GEORGE TOWN: The wait for the Sungai Pinang Flood Mitigation Project Phase Three is over after the Federal Government allocated RM150 million to implement the work.
Penang Federal Action Council chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said the allocation was under the second rolling plan of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) and the project was split into two components.
He said the first component will see RM25million being spent on deepening and beautifying the 3.2km long river as well as 10 other rivers and tributaries which feed into Sungai Pinang.
The remaining RM125million will be used to strengthen and repair the river banks as part of flood mitigation measures.
He said the work was expected to be completed by 2020 and hoped the project can help address flash floods in the area.
"This RM150million is not the end, we will monitor the situation and more money will be allocated if the need arises," he told a press conference today.
The project has been delayed for almost 20 years after the first phase was completed in 1998 (RM6.45million) while the second phase to relocate 223 residents at the river bank was completed this year at a cost of RM4 million.
The Pakatan state government has continuously pressed federal administrators to release funds for the project as the areas surrounding the river are flood prone for years.
Since Deepavali this year, those areas have been hit by flash floods four times following bouts of heavy rain where the latest incident on Monday morning saw students staying there being ferried to schools on boats to sit for their SPM examinations.
In an earlier press conference, Penang Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh urged the federal government to set up a fund to compensate those who suffered losses from the floods.
Meanwhile, State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow welcomed the move to restart the project.