KUCHING: Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) mayor Datuk Hilmy Othman assured the public that the sewage project around Kampung Gita, here is progressing well despite minor technical delays.
He acknowledged Tupong assemblyman Datuk Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman’s role in securing additional funding for the project, initially scheduled for completion on Dec 31, 2024.
“However, due to several technical challenges, the project has been extended, but we remain committed to completing it by the end of this year.
“As everyone knows, road resurfacing across Kuching is done periodically, typically every three to five years, before being repaved again.
“The affected areas from the sewage works were not due for resurfacing for another two to three years,” he said when speaking to reporters during a visit to the road resurfacing project, followed by an inspection of sewerage works at Lorong Kenanga 6, Jalan Pinang Jawa yesterday (Mar 18).
He added that, thanks to Fazzrudin’s intervention, special funding was secured to expedite resurfacing in the affected areas.
“Some roads will be resurfaced before the Hari Raya celebration, while the rest will be completed afterward,” he said.
Hilmy also appealed for public understanding and cooperation, hoping for favourable weather conditions to ensure the project’s timely completion.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Sewerage Services Department deputy director Jamey Ngedat confirmed that this is Kuching’s second and largest centralised sewage system, following the first implemented in Bintulu in the 1980s.
The project aims to connect properties in Jalan Pinang Jawa to a treatment plant near Darul Hana, preventing wastewater from flowing into residential drains.
“In the future, residential drainage will carry only rainwater, eliminating sewage from open drains,” he said.
He also noted that Sarawak has one of the lowest sewerage connectivity rates in Malaysia, with only about 30 per cent of homes connected, compared to the national average of 80 per cent.
“This is part of the government’s long-term efforts to expand centralised sewage treatment,” he added.
