RM11.4 mln additional funding secured for road, flood works in Miri

MIRI (Sept 24): About RM11.4 million in additional funding has been secured for road rehabilitation and flood-related infrastructure improvements in Senadin, Tudan and Permyjaya.

Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin said the funding was sought following discussions with the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and Miri City Council (MCC) on flooding issues and road damage caused by floods.

“I met with DID and the council and asked them to provide estimates of the funding required.

“The council does not have the funds, and DID also needs additional funding, so I took it up with DID headquarters,” he told a press conference after chairing a project meeting at MCC yesterday.

The Senadin assemblyman said DID had since secured additional funding and carried out clearing works at retention ponds, with the latest round completed recently.

“For the retention pond clearing, they have even done it twice already. Recently, they completed the latest round,” he said.

He said additional funding had also been secured to resurface and reconstruct flood-damage roads.

Of the allocation, RM1.48 million is being used to upgrade and rehabilitate Jalan Ilmu, which stretches about 1.245km.

Lee said work on Jalan Ilmu was already underway and was expected to be completed by Dec 10.

“Then I have another additional RM10 million for road rehabilitation,” he said.

The RM10 million allocation will cover eight roads in Permyjaya, seven in Desa Senadin and five in Tudan.

Among the roads identified are Jalan Ilmu, Jalan Sukma and Jalan Desa Senadin, as well as Jalan Datuk Pemaisuri 3C, Jalan Datuk Pemaisuri 2, Jalan Murni Utama and Jalan Datuk Pemaisuri 3 in Permyjaya, together with a section of Jalan Riam.

Meanwhile, Lee said 400 existing streetlights in Senadin, Tudan and Permyjaya would be replaced with LED lights under a separate project.

He said 100 streetlights each would be replaced in Desa Senadin, Tudan, the Jalan Sena-Jalan Mulia-Jalan Kiambang areas and Permyjaya.

“The existing lights, people complain, are too dim. That is why I am changing them to LED because they are brighter,” he said.

He said a contract would be appointed for the project, with replacement works expected to begin once the lights arrived.

The streetlights are expected to arrive in October, with replacement works scheduled to start around mid-October and be completed in November.

Lee said the project had been discussed with Sarawak Energy, which agreed to the replacement of the existing lights.

“We have changed some of the streetlights already, but this is a separate tender because there are quite a number — 400 — to change,” he said.

flood infrastructure development Lee Kim Shin Miri onsite road