GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has hit back at parties that claimed it had failed to solve flood problems in the state.
State executive councillor for Public Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Zairil Khir Johari said in a statement that it was hypocritical for these parties to make such baseless claims, as they were all part of the Barisan Nasional government which denied Penang many critical flood mitigation projects while they were in power at the Federal level.
He cited an example of the Sungai Pinang Basin Flood Mitigation project which stalled after the initial phase was completed in the mid-90s.
“Funds were never disbursed for the subsequent phases. Consequently, no work was carried out.
“After the change of Federal Government in 2018, I personally made a courtesy visit to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who immediately approved the RM150 million needed for the next phase of the project.
“A tender was subsequently carried out to appoint a consultant. The project is now in the detailed design stage, and construction is due to start in late 2020 or early 2021,” he said today.
Penang experienced flash flood up to knee high for over a week on the mainland following heavy downpour.
Over a hundred people were evacuated to several flood relief centres as flood waters inundated their low lying homes.
According to Zairil, the inter-monsoon period contributed exceptionally high intensity rains.
“Official data at rain gauge stations recorded 100 to 200 milimetres (mm) of rain per hour in areas which were hardest hit.”
He said a mere 60mm of rain per hour was already considered to be heavy, and usually enough to cause flash floods.
Zairil said existing drainage infrastructure in Penang was unable to cope with the intense rainfall.
To counter the issue, he said the state government had come up with a detailed study in the form of a drainage master plan for all five districts in Penang.
He said the state government had also implemented 369 projects worth RM155 million since 2013.
“The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has spent nearly RM43 million on 37 flood mitigation projects in the same period of time.”
“Another RM150 million for eight high impact projects were approved by the state government following the November 2017 floods.”
“Out of the eight, six are already under construction while two more are being tendered, following completion of their detailed design this year.
“While these high-impact projects are designed to mitigate floods in many critical areas, they can only function upon completion, most of which are scheduled next year,” he added.
In addition to the state projects, Zairil said the Federal Government have approved five projects worth approximately RM200 million, including the long-awaited Sungai Pinang flood mitigation scheme.
“Unfortunately, voices from the opposition have lately been accusing the state government of not doing anything to alleviate the flood problem in Penang.
“Some have even deemed our flood mitigation projects a “failure”.
“Pakatan Harapan government’s commitment is clearly evident. Since 2013, about RM550 million has been allocated for flood mitigation infrastructure projects in Penang,” he added.