Lee suggests temporary drainage system at construction sites

MIRI (Nov 30): State Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin is calling on the Miri City Council as well as the Land and Survey Department to make it a requirement for developers to include temporary drainage system in their project before it can be approved.

According to him, this is vital in preventing flash floods in the construction site’s surrounding area.

“The council needs to put in temporary drainage as one of their conditions when approving the developer’s building plan.

“The council and the Land and Survey must also seek the cooperation of all developers, make sure that all their temporary outlet drainage are cleared properly, so as to not cause flash flood,” he said.

He was met by reporters during a visit to a flash flood prone area at Jalan Cahaya 1B, Lopeng here this morning.

Touching on flash floods faced by residents at the location, Lee said the authorities concerned had already gone to the ground and identified the cause of the problem.

It was found that a nearby construction area was affecting the flow of rainwater, causing the low-lying area to flood during heavy downpour.

“Now all three – MCC, DID (Drainage and Irrigation Department), JKR (Public Works Department) – have identified the problem and will work on constructing another temporary earth drain to help rainwater flow out directly to the storm drain at the main road.

“The problem now is there are two pieces of private land involved, so the council needs to get consent from the private landowners before they can dig the earth drain by the perimeter of the land, to connect to the main road. That (requesting consent) is being done now,” he said.

Lee added that once consent is received from the landowners, the council will immediately proceed to dig up the earth drain.

“I want this problem to be resolved with this temporary solution, as soon as possible, before the landas (monsoon) season comes.

“I suggest all agencies concerned give priority to this, we must take preventive measures for any flooding,” he stressed, adding that the problem must be resolved within a month, as the monsoon season was already starting.

In addition, Lee said early steps will also be taken as flash flood prevention measures in Jalan Cahaya, Lopeng.

“For now, we will work on clearing out the main water outlets including the retention pond, this will be done by DID.

“JKR will clear the outlets at the main road while the council will work on getting permission from the private landowners to do temporary earth drain linking to the storm drain at the main road,” he explained.

Lee was met by residents in the affected area during his visit to the location this morning. Also present were head of MCC City Infrastructure (CI) committee Cr Abdullah Jaini as well as representatives of JKR and DID.