A 110km stretch of the Klang River will be cleaned to improve the water quality by the year 2020 under the River of Life (ROL) beautification project.
The project is aimed at transforming the Klang and Gombak River into a vibrant and liveable waterfront and to increase the economic viability of the area.
It is one of the five Entry Point Projects (EPP) for the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
A master-planning and beautification work will be carried out in 11 precincts within a 10.7km stretch along the Klang and Gombak river corridor.
The first phase of the project along the Klang River is near Dataran Merdeka, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Central Market, Chinatown and Masjid Jamek.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail said Aecom, a consultant appointed by City Hall (DBKL), was drafting the ROL masterplan and would engage with stakeholders to gather insight and views to ensure the relevance and sustainability of the project.
The participation of the stakeholders in the early planning stage was important to ensure the success of the ROL masterplan, he said at a one-day workshop held at a hotel recently.
Ahmad Fuad added that Aecom, which was appointed on Jan 5, has been tasked to prepare the masterplan within the next six months.
The workshop is the second in preparing the masterplan. The first workshop was held on Jan 5 and 6.
He said the workshop was aimed at:
·Involving the public and representatives of the residents, landowners, businesses, developers and all stakeholders in the early planning of the ROL masterplan;
·Explain to the public the proposed initial draft masterplan; and
·Seek views and ideas of all stakeholders to help the consultant prepare a comprehensive masterplan and take into account the views of all parties.
“This workshop also aims to foster a healthy partnership between the Government and the people to plan and prepare a masterplan for the beautification and development of our rivers,” he said.
Ahmad Fuad said the Government was working to propel economic development towards a high-income country through the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) and to position the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley among the top 20 liveable cities in the world by the year 2020.
He said within the ROL, there were three main components — cleaning of the river, beautification and development. As a result of this, it is expected to trigger an indirect economic investment to the land along the river.
“These parcels of land will be identified and will be offered for development soon,’’ he added.
Ahamd Fuad said to ensure the success of the ROL, several key initiatives needed to be improved such as upgrading existing sewerage facilities, expanding regional sewerage treatment plants, installation of waste water treatment plants at five wet markets, installation of additional gross pollutant traps to improve water quality and relocation of squatters.
By The Star
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