KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — No application has been made yet to extend working hours for the piling works for a new condominium project that is being protested by Taman Desa residents, the project contractor’s representative said.
M. Chandiran, a site manager with contractor Keller (M) Sdn Bhd, was asked to confirm if an application had been made to extend the construction work hours to midnight.
“I have to refer to my management. So far we have not applied for any extension of working hours. So far we have not, we stick to 7am to 7pm,” he told reporters when met outside the project site here yesterday.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had on October 12 issued a letter with special approval for the developer to carry out sub-structure works, subject to 23 conditions including only carrying out works from 7am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday, and not on Sunday or public holidays.
The project named The Address will see three 37-storey blocks with 578 units being built, with Keller handling the first phase involving two blocks — with a total 376 units and a seven-storey carpark — to be built directly outside the existing 10-storey Tiara Faber condominium blocks.
Tiara Faber and the two existing condominiums of 1 Desa and Desa Eight with maximum height of 13 storeys, as well as three schools, are either adjacent or near the project site.
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Permissible noise levels?
Chandiran also said the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) frequently visits the project site and had checked the noise levels of the piling works, with the contractor also doing a round-the-clock monitoring of the noise levels, measured in decibels.
“DBKL came, the Environmental Department came, they measured, it’s only 66. They came with their devices.
“In fact we got two noise monitoring devices also, within the site and another one is within their compound. And we are monitoring it 24 hours and we are collecting the data weekly. It’s about 60 to 70, because I think the limit is around 80,” he told reporters.
Tiara Faber management body’s chairman Kervin Chong told reporters yesterday that the permissible noise level of a urban area should only be at 65 decibels in the day and 55 decibels at night, adding that residents will be doing their own independent noise monitoring to check if the developer’s construction works are within the permitted range.
Memorandum
Yesterday, Chandiran accepted a memorandum handed by the protesters who want the developer and contractor to comply with 17 conditions, failing which they would ask DBKL to issue a temporary stop work order until the conditions are adhered to.
The memorandum was signed by 91 Taman Desa residents who held a peaceful sit-in protest to show their frustration after they had sent over a hundred individual complaints to DBKL over work carried out this Tuesday outside of the specified permitted time of 7am to 7pm.
While receiving the memorandum, Chandiran told residents that the works are expected to be carried out over a six-month period.
A separate copy of the memorandum was also handed over by residents to Kaisar Maxim Sdn Bhd’s clerk of works Mohd Afandi Mat Yasin, who accepted it on behalf of the developer.
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Beyond permitted working hours
When asked regarding three separate incidents where works on the project site were claimed by residents to have been carried out beyond DBKL’s permitted hours, Chandiran clarified that the clearing works on a Sunday on November 19 was not by Keller, but for the second phase handled by another contractor.
As for the December 5 incident where residents said construction works were carried out until around 8.30pm, Chandiran explained that this was due to delays caused by traffic conditions on that day, as well as the nature of the work carried out.
“Because that was a process of concreting, during concreting, we cannot stop the work because we have to complete the concreting, casting of the pile.
“The traffic was heavy that day. The truck came late, supposed to finish by 6.45pm but the truck was late. We cannot stop the work, it will affect the integrity of the pile, so we have to finish it by hook or crook,” he said.
As for yesterday morning where Tiara Faber residents said work was carried out from 6.35am, Chandiran said he merely wanted to avoid having the works clashing with the residents’ protest time as both sides would otherwise have their activities interrupted.
“The reason is because I know they are going to have a gathering here, a protest here today [Saturday], so I wanted to finish my work earlier… So I need to finish early before the protest starts,” he said, noting that a shipment due yesterday would also otherwise have to wait for the residents to complete their protest.
Chandiran said he could not fix the arrival time for the shipment that was brought from Johor Baru to the project site, noting that he had asked the transporters to come earlier than 7am in order to not interrupt the protest or obstruct traffic access.
“So this is for the benefit of me, transporters and also the people who are going to come here,” he said, the last referring to the protesters.
He noted that the contractor had finished work relating to the shipment early at around 8am as they had started work early. Yesterday’s sit-in protest started around 9.30am.
Traffic
Responding to residents’ claim of the lack of traffic marshals to direct traffic when lorries and trailers are brought to the project site, Chandiran said traffic marshals are present when lorries and long trailers are brought to the project site, with around four loads of construction materials arriving on trailer in a week.
Malay Mail spotted a construction worker tasked with the duties of a traffic marshal at the project site yesterday.
During the protest, Taman Desa residents yesterday voiced complaints over traffic congestion in the area that they said would be worsened especially during school days due to the construction work.
Among other things in their memorandum, they had asked the developer and contractor to only schedule heavy vehicle transport outside the peak traffic hours of 7am to 8am, noon to 12pm and 5pm to 7pm.
Chandiran told reporters that the internal road shared by both the schools and project site did not have heavy traffic during the time when students are dropped off and picked up, saying that the traffic congestion is at the main road.
“Otherwise, even during school days, not many cars are coming here, not many parents; 12pm to 2pm, you can hardly see 20 cars,” he said.
The Address is one of 13 projects in Taman Desa known to and highlighted by the community-driven Protect Taman Desa coalition, which fears that the mature neighbourhood will be overdeveloped.
There are currently two ongoing lawsuits in relation to the planning permission and development order granted by DBKL for The Address.
