Yap (third left) witnesses the handing over of a letter of award between an MPP officer and Syarikat Rimujaya representative at Kota Sentosa Seven Mile Old Bazaar on May 14, 2024.

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, May 14: The RM1.1 million Kota Sentosa Seven Mile Old Bazaar drainage upgrading project is expected to be completed by Nov 12 this year – just before the start of the rainy season.

According to Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap, the scope of works include the construction of a new 22-metre-long and 1.2-metre-wide culvert across Jalan Liu Shan Bang as well as widening and deepening of 113 metres long and 1.5 metres wide of the existing drains.

The project was awarded to Syarikat Rimujaya through an open tender with Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) as the appointed implementing agency.

“The project is hoped to prevent and mitigate frequent flash floods which occurred twice in February this year,” he said in a statement after witnessing the handing over of the project held at the site today.

During the visit, Yap also requested MPP officers to diligently monitor and supervise the construction and upgrading drainage works to ensure that the contractor carry out the works in accordance with the scope of works and bill of quantities with minimal inconvenience to the business community of the area and ensure that there will be no delay in the completion of this Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) project.

Yap further said the drainage infrastructure development is the joint responsibility of both the Federal and Sarawak governments under the Concurrent List of the Federal Constitution, subsequently pointing out that the Federal government must contribute at least 50 per cent of funding required to resolve the flash flooding problem.

“As the Member of Parliament of the area (Stampin), Chong Chieng Jen should do his part to get more federal funding as the Federal government collected income taxes of RM6.8 billion from Sarawak in 2023 and is expected to collect RM7.6 billion in 2024,” he said. – DayakDaily