KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 24 — Flood mitigation measures and efforts to upgrade river embankments will not only be focused on in flood-prone states, but also in Selangor, which was hit by massive floods at the end of last year.

Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the country suffered huge losses of up to billions of ringgit every time floods occurred; therefore, the one-off solution must be implemented immediately based on the requirements of the respective states.

"We will give priority (to upgrade embankments) in areas that are prone to floods, such as the states on the East Coast like Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor, and even in Selangor, which prior to this, has never been hit (by major floods).

"For example, in Selangor, we see that the existing embankments are not enough, and need to be raised due to weather factors, rising sea levels and so on,” he told reporters after visiting the proposed site of the drain upgrading project in Kampung Kubang Parit here today.

He was commenting on a recent media report which stated that residents living along the coast were at risk of extreme impact from climate change in the next 10 years, if mitigation measures, especially efforts to upgrade sea dikes were not implemented immediately.

Asked about the allocation to upgrade the embankments, Tuan Ibrahim said the exact amount could not be stated as yet, but that it would be relatively large.

According to him, the allocation required for the proposed long-term solution to the flood phenomenon nationwide exceeds RM300 billion, with phased implementation until the year 2100.

In the meantime, he said it was estimated that about RM10 billion was allocated to upgrade various systems including embankments, urban drainage and water resource conservation throughout the country.

Meanwhile, on the project in Kampung Kubang Parit, he said a total of RM4.5 million was allocated for works that involved upgrading to a concrete drain spanning about one kilometre.

"This area was originally an agricultural area, but has changed a lot, as there is now a lot of housing, so we find that this drainage system needs to be well maintained. This project is expected to take a year to complete,” he said. — Bernama