THE construction works of the flood mitigation project at Sungai Permatang Rawa in Bukit Mertajam has been stopped for now due to land acquisition issue.
State Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the decision has to be taken because of the legal issue involving the land acquisition of 74 land lots along the 4.75km river.
As a solution, he said the state government has come up with a decision to divide the project into two parts, which involve the upstream and downstream of Sungai Permatang Rawa.
“We have discussed the issue with the current contractor and decided to end the construction works of the project.
“This was done based on mutual termination of contract as agreed by both sides.
“Thus, a new tender for both parts (upstream and downstream) will be issued out as soon as possible. So, there will be two tenders. The new appointed contractors will then resume the unfinished construction works.
“We are also in the midst of a discussion with the state Lands and Mines Department in an effort to accelerate the land acquisition process.
“This is mainly because one land lot does not necessarily mean that it has one name only, it could be more than that.
“So, that’s what makes the whole process complicated, especially in getting an approval for certain parts of the works,” Zairil told reporters when visiting the place in Bukit Mertajam on March 13.
Also present were state executive councillor for Women & Family Development, Gender Inclusiveness & Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Chong Eng and state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) director Shukri Muslim.
The RM29 million flood mitigation project at Sungai Permatang Rawa that started in October 2017 is supposed to be completed in two years’ time.
The works include the widening and deepening of the river, the upgrading of two existing bridges and crossings at 19 locations as well as two water gates.
The river runs through the residential areas of Kampung Tanah Liat, Taman Guru, Padang Lalang and Kampung Permatang Rawa.
Zairil said the project current contractor would be paid based on the construction works that they done. It cost about RM4.6 million.
“They will not claim any losses or expenses because of the contract termination. This is what has been negotiated earlier.
“We also did not want them to wait too long without doing nothing because of the land acquisition problem. That is why such a decision has to be made.
“At the same time, for the upstream area of the river, we will redesign the project to reduce the land acquisition.
“So far, there is no construction work done in that area yet.
“We will make an announcement once the redesign process is completed,” he added.
Meanwhile, for the downstream area, Zairil said the work progress was already at 49% prior to the termination of the contract.
“We expect the land acquisition process to take around six to eight months.
“So, once the land acquisition problem is solved and the new contractors have been appointed, we will start the work immediately.
“I also would like to stress out that the cost of the project for both parts (upstream and downstream) of the river will remain the same (RM29 million) as mentioned earlier,” he said.
On the progress of the flood mitigation project at Parit 4 in Taman Sri Rambai, Bukit Mertajam, Zairil said the overall construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The RM17 million project that started since March 2018 includes the building of new pump houses, upgrading existing pump houses, and upgrading drains and rivers.
On a separate note, Zairil also announced a RM5 million flood mitigation project for a flood-prone area located at Jalan Tembikai in Bukit Mertajam.
“Currently, the project is still in the final report for the details design.
“After we are done with that, we will issue out a tender in August this year to appoint a contractor.
“Among the works are building new pump houses with two units of submersible pump and upgrading the existing drains.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad