SHAH ALAM: A major flood mitigation initiative under the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project has successfully increased the Klang River’s water capacity by 18 per cent, covering a 31-kilometre stretch from the river mouth to the Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur border.
Syaiful Azmen Nordin, managing director of Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) appointed as the master developer of the SMG project, said the improved river section spans two of four key project blocks - from the Shah Alam-Klang border to the Shah Alam-Puchong border, and from the river mouth to Bandar Klang - identified as Blocks 3 and 1, respectively.
He said that the state government, through its agencies, is targeting a total increase of at least 40 per cent in river capacity by the end of this year after past data revealed that Klang River, especially in Selangor, could not accommodate upstream water overflow during heavy rains.
“Block 3, which covers flood-prone areas such as Sri Muda, Kota Kemuning, Section 17, and Section 24, requires special attention, as these are the most affected zones in recent flood events,” he told reporters after a site visit to the flood mitigation project in Kota Kemuning today.
The river widening and dredging works for the remaining two blocks - from Bandar Klang to Bandar Sultan Sulaiman (Block 2), and from the Shah Alam-Puchong border to Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur (Block 4) - will begin next year, covering an additional 28.8 km.
According to Syaiful Azmen, construction on Blocks 1 and 3 is expected to be completed by year-end, after which a two-year enhancement and monitoring phase will begin, also managed by LLSB.
To date, around 94,000 tonnes of waste have been extracted from the river, at an estimated handling cost of RM20 million, he said.
“That RM20 million could’ve been used for other development initiatives, if only there was greater public awareness about river cleanliness,” he added.
