Photo: Edgeprop
The Klang River, flowing from Ampang to Port Klang over a distance of 120km, is often likened to ‘teh tarik’ because of its dirty colour. Instead of being the majestic river it could be, it became an illegal dumping ground, thanks to people throwing their unwanted trash into it.
Thankfully, Selangor has decided to turn things around by giving the Klang portion of the river a makeover! This is in line with making it one of Selangor’s main economic and tourism spots.
The New Straits Times reported that Selangor’s Menteri Besar Incorporated’s (MBI) subsidiary, Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB) has devised a development plan with focus on cleaning, rehabilitating and incorporating economic and tourism activities along the river. Sounds like a great plan to us!
According to LLSB managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin, the development will take place in stages under the watch of Selangor Maritime Gateway.
Photo: The Straits Times
New developments and commercial activities led to the once majestic river being in the state it now is, with industrial projects and factories contributing to the waste in the river.
“Sungai Klang remains an invaluable resource for the state. Something had to be done because the river had been neglected for so long. In 2015, a team from MBI, including LLSB chairman Raja Shahreen Raja Othman and I, visited the river and was shocked to find that one could literally walk on the water due to the immense volume of waste floating on it. We presented the dire situation to the then menteri besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, the state secretary and the state Economic Planning Unit that the rubbish menace must end... we needed to tackle the most basic issue first, which was to get rid of the rubbish and we were given an allocation to conduct river-cleaning activities,” Syaiful told the New Straits Times.
Syaiful added that the team came up with a master plan in 2017 and in March 2018, they approached the state government with that plan. From presenting their ideas to Azmin and then to the state Economic Planning Unit and on to the current Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, the project was soon well under way.
Named Selangor Maritime Gateway project, Phase 1 was launched on 29 October this year and is targeted to end in 2022. The start will involve cleaning the river from Midvalley Megamall to the Port Klang river mouth, including the Sungai Penchala, Sungai Kandis and Sungai Pinang tributaries.
Meanwhile, Teluk Kapas will also be rehabilitated in an attempt to make the space usable for community projects. Selangor Maritime Gateway had also formed a partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, headed by chief executive officer Boyan Slat. You may remember their brilliant machine, The Interceptor 002.
Taman Awam Pengkalan Batu, Mangrove Point Recreational Park, Cultural Village, Grand Bazaar and Teluk Kapas will also be revitalised and given new life, in the hopes that this will bring new life to the area.
Even better, there will be a new transportation system! Covering a span of 15km and linking Pengkalan Batu jetty, Kampung Sungai Sireh fishermen's jetty and Mangrove Point jetty, the new system sounds pretty exciting.
What are your thoughts on this new venture?
By: Celestine Foo
