JOHOR AWAITS APPROVAL FOR RM900 MILLION FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECTS

JOHOR BAHRU, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Johor is hopeful that the Federal Government will approve the RM900 million flood mitigation projects (RTB) for Sungai Mengkibol and Sungai Melantai in Kluang as a long-term solution to the flood problems faced by the local community.

State Public Works, Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Committee Chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the RM700 million Sungai Mengkibol RTB will benefit some 14,000 residents, and the RM200 million Sungai Melantai RTB, meanwhile, will benefit 2,000 residents living along the respective rivers.

"Insya-Allah, if the federal government approves two RTBs worth 900 million, maybe we can solve this problem (flooding) in the long term," he told reporters in an interview at the Johor Menteri Besar's official residence, Saujana, here yesterday.

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Also present was Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

He said the two projects in question were in addition to the seven RTBs approved by the federal government, including for  Kota Tinggi, Batu Pahat, Segamat, and Muar, with a total allocation of RM1.6 billion.

"We are grateful to the federal government because this year alone we received seven RTBs worth RM1.6 billion. This is a game changer because in order to become a developed state, we have to solve this flood issue and maybe we do it in phases. We prioritise the areas that are already facing the floods for many years," he said.

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He said the approved RTB is expected to be completed next year, and a task force consisting of the state government and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) was formed to implement the projects.

"(The implementation of RTB) is currently in the technical process because the issue that usually (is) at hand is land acquisition. This issue is under the authority of the state government and under this task force, we are trying to expedite (the process on) land and river reserve encroachment," he said.

Last Monday, Mohamad Fazli, who is also the assemblyman for Bukit Pasir, said the state government had spent almost RM3 million to ensure that the river banks did not collapse and water did not overflow in Sungai Melantai and Sungai Mengkibol.

He was previously reported to have said that Sungai Melantai and Sungai Mengkibol were found to be the cause of floods in the Kluang area that affect 2,000 residents almost every year.

-- BERNAMA