KUCHING: April 9, 2014 - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is seeking RM500 million from the federal government to finance some of the remaining phases of the flood-diversion channel project here.

Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr James Dawos Mamit said the project here was his top priority after a pause in the project.

Dawos, who is also Mambong MP, said the 8km-long diversion channel was very important to avert flooding in low-lying areas, not just in city, but also in surrounding areas, including Batu Kawa.

He said the whole diversion channel, which would be built in Matang to divert water to the sea, originally cost RM1.4 billion.

“This project has been scheduled to be built in stages, with the first phase already completed a few years ago,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Dawos said the first phase, which was carried out in 2009, cost about RM140 million, adding it covered 2km. The other phases were supposed to be built under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) and Dawos hoped with the RM500 million fund more than half of the project would be implemented before the end of next year.

He said the main components of the project were the construction of a flood diversion channel, bunds, a barrage and tide gates.

The proposed project was initiated after the city was hit by the worst floods in more than 40 years in 2004.

Flood also occurred here four times: Jan 8 to 11, 2009, Jan 29, 2009, February 2003 and last January.

These recurrent floods caused significant damage to properties and severely disrupted transport and communication. Roads between Kuching and inland areas had been cut off by the rising floodwaters. One of the most severely affected roads was the Kuching-Batu Kawa-Bau expressway that cut across Sarawak River via Batu Kawa Bridge. The road is coded as a Federal Route and is the backbone of the local road system.

It connects Kuching to the rural town of Bau, and it is also part of the Pan Borneo trunk road that connects to major towns in the state. Dawos said his ministry would also ask for RM200 million for the construction of Phase Three and Four of the Sibu flood mitigation project.

He said the next phase would focus on Lanang, adding the main components of the projects were raising existing roads to act as flood bunds, improving drainage, setting up flood water pumping stations and constructing tidal gates.

He said the first phase of the project along Rajang River, costing RM137.2 million, was completed last September, while the second phase along Igan River, costing RM46.6 million, would be completed in August this year.

Dawos lamented that not much funds was approved to implement flood mitigation projects in Sarawak and Sabah this year and hoped to see more funds approved next year.