Environment and Water Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man is pictured at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur August 3, 2020. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3  — The Sibu flood mitigation project (RTB) will be implemented in five phases at a total cost of RM675.7 million, said Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

He said phase one and two of the project have been completed while the third phase was still in progress and as at November 25, it was 32 per cent complete.

"Phase four of the Sibu RTB is funded by the Federal government in collaboration with the Sarawak state government. The state government has allocated RM120 million for this phase under the 12th Malaysian Plan (12MP).

"We have expedited the allocation because there is a desperate need to deal with the worsening flood situation that often occurs in the area,” he said in response to a question from Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Ling wanted to know why the Sibu RTB Phase four was funded by Sarawak state government and not the federal government, the number of phases before completion of the project, its total cost and if contract for the project was procured through direct negotiation.

Tuan Ibrahim said for Phases four and five of the project, the ministry through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) applied for funding under the 12MP and the RM396 million project, if approved, would be implemented through open tender system.

"In the ministry’s plan, the fourth phase of construction is to build a levee or wall, pump houses,  drainage system and so forth which is expected to benefit over 10,000 people in areas affected by floods in Sibu.

"To reduce the impact of floods at these critical areas, the ministry through DID has also applied for an allocation under the 12MP to implement the second phase of the Flood Forecast and Alert Programme (PRAB) and Integrated River Basin Management Plan (IRBM) at the Rajang river basin,” he added.

Tuan Ibrahim said the river maintenance work is under the jurisdiction of the state government and the Federal government assisted in the form of small river conservation projects for states with flood problems.

"For the year 2020, RM9 million had been allocated for river conservation in Sarawak, with priority given to critical places,” he added. — Bernama