KUCHING: Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian has every reason to believe that the long-awaited Sarawak River bypass channel will finally see the light of day.
His confidence stems from the fact that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof is now in charge of Sarawak affairs.
He said the eight-kilometre Sarawak River bypass channel, which is under the federal government’s purview, was halted for some time due to many reasons.
Dr Sim, who also serves as the Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government, asserted that once it is completed, coupled with several local flood mitigation projects, the flood risk in the Kuching area will be reduced.
“If Sungai Sarawak overflows, Matang overflows, Batu Kawah overflows, then this water will go to the river channel directly to the sea.
“Here, we also have the ‘Projek Tebatan Banjir Berkeutamaan Tinggi’ (PTBBT) in Batu Kawah, which is under the Sarawak government.
“This river bypass channel is under the federal government. If we don’t work together, whatever the state government does here later will still result in floods.
“This project (river bypass channel) started many years ago. Two kilometres were completed in 2010, but there were no more funds. The federal government changed a few times, but now we are confident because the minister in charge is Datuk Seri Fadillah,” he said.
He told New Sarawak Tribune this when visiting flood victims at the Temporary Evacuation Centre (PPS) at Stapok Community Hall and Kampung Sinar Budi Baru here yesterday (Mar 2).
Dr Sim, who is Batu Kawa assemblyman, said the project funded by the federal government requires approximately RM1.8 billion in allocation and a period of three to four years to be implemented.
To fully address the issue of flash floods in Kuching, he said it is crucial for this project to be implemented immediately because the existing rivers are unable to accommodate the high rainfall, leading to overflow.
“Therefore, we urgently need the project involving the construction of a six-kilometre river route and a deep, wide and large artificial river.
“Its location is between the Matang, Malihah, and Batu Kawa areas. This artificial river will flow directly into the South China Sea because the existing river cannot handle high rainfall,” he explained.
In early February, Fadillah revealed that the construction of a bypass channel to ease the volume of water from the Sarawak River to Batang Salak is currently in the pipeline.
He said this is part of the flood mitigation project in the state to solve the issue of flash floods, particularly in Kuching.
Fadillah added that these flood mitigation projects in the state will be carried out in phases, depending on the availability of funds.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when presenting Budget 2024, said a total of 33 high-priority flood mitigation projects will be implemented this year at a cost of RM11.8 billion, including in Kuching.
