KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — The Federal Territories Ministry is seeking at least RM40 million to build two retention ponds to fix flooding woes in the federal capital.

Following last Thursday's  flash floods which saw more than 100 cars damaged due to rising waters and traffic congestion, the minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, said City Hall had identified the causes and would present the findings to the Cabinet soon.

He said the two proposed ponds had to be built in Pantai Dalam and Jalan Duta.

“It will cost the government between RM30 million and RM40 million,” he said after a meeting with City Hall officials yesterday.

Tengku Adnan said a muddy rentention basin at  Universiti Malaya  and drains that could not cope with the heavy rainfall were largely responsible for the floods.

The retention pond at Universiti Malaya was filled with mud and was unable to accommodate much water.

He said development work taking place at the university had caused mud to flow into the pond.

Tengku Adnan stressed, however, the rainfall last Thursday was “exceptionally heavy”, over 80mm per hour, and that the city’s drainage system was unable to cope with such heavy rainfall.

 He said the first step was for City Hall to obtain permission from Universiti Malaya to clean the pond to ensure it functioned properly.

Drains leading in and out of flood-prone areas must also be cleaned every week instead of once a month.

He said the flooding near Jalan Duta was caused by construction work.

“The construction of a tunnel near Jalan Duta and an incomplete 50m-long pipe laying project, also in the area, caused problems,” he said.

“The pipe is not connected to any outlet as the project is incomplete and as such the drains were unable to withstand the heavy water flow.

“In Pantai Dalam, the drains were unable to hold the water that gushed down from the hills.”

He said there were 26 pumps at several locations in the city but they were not enough.

“We are terribly sorry over the incident. We have identified the causes and want to rectify this (problem) as soon as possible,” he said.

Tengku Adnan  admitted that City Hall was “a little slow” in reacting to the situation and said more personnel would be deployed to divert traffic when it rained.

“I admit the coordination between City Hall’s information technology department and its disaster department was a little slow,” he said.