GEORGE TOWN: A RM6 million flood mitigation project for the inner city of George Town is expected to start in January.
State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the project, undertaken by the Penang Island Muncipal Council (MPPP), was expected to be completed in 14 months.
“The width of monsoon drains will be doubled to four metres to enable rain water to be discharged into the sea faster,” he said, during a visit to Jalan Transfer, here, recently
“We have identified two main factors behind the flash floods in Penang — the high backflow from the sea during high tide and narrow drainage beneath the road surface.
“There is an urgent need to increase the drainage capacity.”
Chow added that an additional and deeper underground storage drain would also be built to improve the water storage capacity.
He said the project would be done on a phase-by-phase basis (six phases) over a length of 709 metres in the vicinity of low-lying areas in Jalan Transfer, Jalan Hutton and Jalan Argyll.
Chow said the first phase of the project was expected to take up to 14 weeks.
“Currently, the drainage system in many parts of Penang is unable to cope with heavy rainfall so we have to act now. Similar flood mitigation projects are also due to start in Jalan Macalister and Jalan Residensi,” he added.
He said these would include building a new tidal gate on the seafront. Chow said the funds for the project would come from the developers’ flood mitigation contribution fund.
Penang has been hit by a spate of flash floods.
During a downpour on Oct 3, many streets here were flooded, including Jalan Transfer and caused massive traffic congestion. Many motorists were stranded for over an hour. By Phuah Ken Lin