KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Efforts to transform Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang into a dynamic and liveable waterfront icon through the River of Life (RoL) initiative have progressed 94.85 per cent, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Federal Territories Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said that the implementation of the RoL involved eight rivers along 110 kilometres (km) around the capital, namely Sungai Klang, Sunagi Gombak, Sungai Batu, Sungai Jinjang, Sungai Keroh, Sungai Kerayong, Sungai Ampang and Sungai Bonus.
He said that the beautification work for the RoL had reached 100 per cent, involving the upgrading of public parks and pedestrian walkway facilities, as well as cycling paths on the banks of Sungai Klang and Sungai Gombak, along a 10.7km stretch.
“The river cleaning component has reached 95 per cent while the beautification component is 100 per cent completed… for land development (on the outskirts of RoL), it is being carried out in stages,” he said in a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara, here today.
He said this in his reply to a question from Senator Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who wanted to know the government’s beautification plans for Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang, using methods similar to that used for Sungai Melaka.
Jalaluddin said that the more aggressive and dynamic conditions of both Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang, as they are located in Kuala Lumpur city, posed a challenge for the RoL project to be implemented, compared with the Sungai Melaka beautification project.
“The Sungai Melaka beautification project is located close to the Straits of Melaka, causing the river water to flow calmly, and can be controlled with a sluice gate,” he said.
Commenting on South Korea’s success in reviving the dead, 5.8 km long Cheonggyecheon River, which is now a tourist hotspot, he said that the Federal Territories Ministry had plans to make the project a model for river projects in the country.
However, according to him, after the study was carried out by examining the ‘double deck level’ river approach, which cost RM1 billion over two km, the government decided to use the expenditure to meet the needs of the people as the country is currently in the economic recovery phase.
“In a situation where the country is facing economic constraints, the ministry thinks it will be more appropriate to spend the money to address the needs of the people. This possibility can always be considered for future planning,” he said in response to Muhammad Zahid’s supplementary question regarding the revitalisation of the Cheonggyecheon River in South Korea.
— Bernama
