141 FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECTS APPROVED UNDER 13MP ROLLING PLAN 1

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- A total of 141 Flood Mitigation Projects (FMP) have been approved under Rolling Plan 1 (RP1) of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) nationwide as the government’s structural approach to reducing flood risks.

Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said his ministry had taken note that there were implementation challenges at the ground level, including detailed technical studies, designs based on targeted levels of protection, land acquisition processes as well as the relocation of existing utilities.

“These factors affect the project completion timeline and may cause delays,” he said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2026 in the Dewan Negara today.

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In other developments, he said a total of six water supply projects worth RM1.27 billion had been approved under RP1 of the 13MP.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, during the winding-up session for the ministry, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) was upgrading its radar observation network at three locations, namely Kuching, Sarawak; Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Subang, Selangor, to support monitoring and the issuance of weather warnings.

He said in line with current technological developments, various dissemination platforms had been implemented to enhance service delivery systems to ensure wider and more inclusive dissemination of information.

“Additionally, MetMalaysia has upgraded 23 tsunami sirens and will upgrade 30 tsunami sirens under the 13MP,” he said.

On the National Groundwater Resource Mapping and Development Project (PABT), which began in Kedah as a pilot project for the 2021-2025 period at a cost of RM16 million, Huang said the Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia (JMG) was carrying out systematic aquifer mapping across the state through a combination of geophysical survey methods, groundwater exploration activities and 3D/4D groundwater modelling.

He said findings to date had successfully identified several high-potential aquifer zones, particularly in several lowland districts and alluvial basins in Kedah, which could be developed as alternative water sources.

He said the approach adopted by PABT in Kedah was more practical and cost-effective for the country’s geological conditions and needs, while still capable of producing sufficiently robust 3D/4D aquifer models for planning, protection zoning and the development of new wells compared with Japan’s 4D aquifer mapping technology.

“The government remains open to selectively leveraging Japanese expertise and technology, however the main focus at present is to complete baseline mapping and the development of a groundwater database through pilot projects such as PABT Kedah before expanding to other states,” he said.

-- BERNAMA