Penang Island City Mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif gave assurance that the authorities are closely watching the hillslopes above a paired road project to prevent landslides.
“There has been continuous monitoring of the slopes since the project began in June 2017 by the developer PLB Sdn Bhd and the Penang Island City Council (MBPP). We did not leave the entire responsibility of the project to the contractor.”
“Instead, we have been taking additional safety measures since the project began,” she told the media during a site visit on Wednesday (22 November).
In fact, city officials instructed the contractor to put up more safety measures like constructing additional check dams and install geotextile layers to lessen the risk of landslides.
“We told the developer to increase maintenance of the retention pond to remove sludge. This work should be done every day or every hour if necessary.”
She said this after some articles emerged on social media claiming that the road project along Jalan Bukit Kukus in Paya Terubong is dangerous as it might case mudflows during heavy rain. Some even showed pictures and videos of a torrent of muddy water.
But Maimunah pointed out it is just a small waterfall on the hill that has swelled due to a downpour.
“During a downpour, this waterfall will look like a huge gush of water coming down from the hill which people might mistake as a landslide,” she said, adding that the waterfall will not be encroached by the road construction.
Furthermore, Maimunah pledged that they will not hesitate to stop the RM275.6 million road project if they deem it to be risky and cause a landslide.
The 1.4km alternate road connecting Lebuh Bukit Jambul with Bandar Baru Ayer Itam is expected to be completed by early-2019.
Image sourced from The Star.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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