KUCHING: The Sarawak government has appointed Hardwood Timber Sdn Bhd as contractor to clean up the ‘clogged’ Batang Baleh in Kapit.
The company was given a one-year contract starting today (March 15) to clear the river upstream of deadwood, gravel and sand deposits.
Sarawak Forest Department director Datuk Hamden Mohammad (representing the government) and Harwood Timber Sdn Bhd general manager Zainal Abidin Abdullah represented the parties involved at the signing and handover of service agreement document ceremony.
The floating wood debris – popularised by the media as ‘logjam’ – in the river were apparently caused by heavy rain on the night of Aug 20, 2021 which washed down huge volumes of deadwood at the Baleh Hydroelectric Project (HEP) dam site.
Residents expressed their concern over the issue due to the increase in water level and were worried about their safety, especially when travelling by express boats.
