According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the project has now covered about 2km and has 6km more to cover.
“Once completed, the excess water from the city’s catchment area will not flow past the city anymore and will be channelled straight to Salak and the sea,” said Wan Junaidi.
He added that the costs for the canal would be around RM1.6 billion and with such a huge cost, the construction needed to be done in stages.
Wan Junaidi was speaking to reporters after a meeting at the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) office at Wisma Saberkas here yesterday.
He also said the canal would cut across sections of several roads including Jalan Matang and the Santubong coastal road, over which bridges would need to be constructed.
“This process is ongoing as we had many things to take into account such as land acquisition, but the government is positive about this project,” he said.
In addition, he said two tidal gates would also be built to regulate water flow and release excess water when needed.
On the flash floods that hit several parts of the city yesterday, Wan Junaidi said it only affected low-lying areas and was not due to overflowing water from rivers.
Also present at the meeting were DID Malaysia deputy director Datuk Zulkefli Hassan and state DID director Chok Moi Soon. - Borneo Post
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