KEMAMAN, Dec 21 ― The state government hopes the construction of a man-made river in Kemaman would be speeded up to reduce the impact of flood on the people in Bandar Baru Bukit Mentok, Pengkalan Pandan and Binjai here in future.

State Welfare, Women and Family Development and National Unity Committee chairman, Hanafiah Mat said the idea of building an artificial river arose when major floods hit Kemaman in 2013 and 2014.

"I understand the Department of Environment (DOE) has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.

"When completed, it will help channel overflow from the upstream of Kemaman and alleviate the risk of floods in residential areas near Chukai,” he said when met by reporters after visiting villagers of Kampung Paya Berenjut here last night.

When the rain is heavy, water flow in the two rivers in Hulu Kemaman will meet at the confluence near Kampung Paman causing water to overflow in the housing area.

The situation worsened during high tide which caused river water being unable to flow smoothly into the sea.

Therefore, Hanafiah who Chukai assemblyman hoped the artificial river would be expedited by the Drainage and Irrigation Department to mitigate the impact of floods in future.

Asked about the future of 1,500 residents at Teluk Kalong People’s Housing who were also affected by floods, Hanafiah said he had applied for RM1.6 million allocation from the Public Works Department to build four new water channels in the area.

"They would speed up the flow of stagnated water after a heavy rain in future. This is a short-term measure necessary to alleviate floods in the area,” he said. ― Bernama