KUALA LUMPUR: As many as eight high-risk areas in Kuala Lumpur are to undergo slope strengthening this year, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Phesal Talib said today.
The allocation had been made available and there were also funds from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, he told a press conference after a briefing on the slope and drainage system repair at Jalan Parlimen and Jalan Kinabalu by Kumpulan Ikram Sdn Bhd director-general (operations) Mohd Taufik Haron.
Ahmad Phesal then visited the repair site of the Jalan Kinabalu slope here along with Kuala Lumpur City Hall civil engineering and drainage director Tan Keng Chok and the Royal Malaysian Police Strategic Resources and Technology Department director Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah.
Kumpulan Ikram is a company advisor appointed by City Hall to monitor the slopes around Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Phesal said repair work on the Jalan Kinabalu slope which began in March was 50 per cent complete, and it was expected to be completed on schedule by Oct 18.
He said the project to repair the slope at Jalan Parlimen, costing RM3 million, was expected to begin soon after an open tender was decided within the next two months.
“We expect it to take 32 weeks or less after the project begins to complete the repair process,” he said.
Slopes on both the roads which surround the police headquarters in Bukit Aman were reported to be among the causes of cracks detected on a 33-storey building at the headquarters.
Ahmad Phesal said 600 of the 3,299 slopes in Kuala Lumpur were reported to be in the high-risk category based on a study conducted by the Kuala Lumpur Slope Information System (KuLSIS).
In January, slopes at high risk in three areas had reportedly been fully restored, namely Taman Salak Jaya; Lorong Setia Bistari, Bukit Damansara, and Jalan Tuba, Kampung Attap.
Ahmad Phesal said City Hall was committed to repairing all the slopes which were deemed high risk in the capital.
“Although, as a general principle, repair works should be borne by the landlord and in the case of Jalan Kinabalu and Jalan Parlimen, the landlord is the police, but because it involves the safety of the people, we are responsible,” he said. – BERNAMA