Department of Irrigation and Drainage Flood Management Division director Ab Qahar Osman said it was a flood mitigation project under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) to tackle future flood disasters.
“In the 11MP, we will focus on several proposals to resolve floods. The cost of the dam is estimated to be RM3 billion and will take about five years to complete.
“We have learnt a lesson from what happened recently, and that is our rivers cannot accommodate the quantity of rainfall,” he said when contacted by Bernama here.
He said the dam not only acts as a water catchment area to prevent floods, but also generates electricity, channels water from rivers and supplies water to domestic consumers.
Ab Qahar said the quantity of rain recorded in states in the east coast within 10 days was 850mm, which exceeded the normal level of 100mm.
“Therefore, major rivers are unable to cater to the amount of water and causes it to spill over into residential areas,” he said.
He said several flood mitigation projects have been implemented in Kelantan under the 10MP, which cost about RM100 million and includes raising the riverbanks and widening rivers.
Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that flood mitigation projects would be given priority in the 11MP.
Meanwhile, UiTM Town and Regional Planning lecturer Assoc Prof Ahmad Fuzi Arshad said building dams at the river would not only prevent floods but would also be useful during the dry season.
“However, the size of the dam depends on the quantity of rain. Though the dam is small, several can be built at major rivers,” said Ahmad Fuzi.
He also agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who proposed for more water highways to be built in flood-prone states, as well as canals and drains, which can accommodate more water.
Although the construction of water highways may take a long time to complete, he said it would benefit people living in flood-prone areas.
Economist Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai felt that the government could build water highways and other flood mitigation projects using their own funds as such projects were considered an investment.
“It may initially cost a lot, but it will help the government avoid high expenditure in the post-flood phase,” he said.
— BERNAMA
