Work on the construction of the breakwater at the mouth of Sungai Besut, which has been delayed for more than two years, will be resumed by a rescue contractor starting next month.
Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the project was supposed to be completed in December 2019 but was delayed due to problems with the contractor and infrastructure.
"NRECC (Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry) through the Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) appointed a rescue contractor through an open tender on November 17 last year with the new project costing RM250 million and expected to be fully completed by December 2025.
"The scope of the new project is to complete the remaining work covering the construction of the breakwater in the northern part measuring 1.3 kilometres (km) while in the southern part it is 1.85 km long," he told reporters after a working visit to the site to complete the remaining work of the Sungai Besut Estuary Conservation Project near here, today.
Nik Nazmi further said that the project originally started in 2016, but the initial contractor was terminated in December 2020 because he could not continue the work.
According to Nik Nazmi, when the project is completed, it will solve the problem of sand deposits in the Sungai Besut estuary which causes it to become shallow in addition to providing protection to the jetty area and boats from the waves and can reduce the problem of beach erosion in the northern part of the beach there.
"All this time, fishermen and owners of tourist and private boats often face the problem of being exposed to big waves, especially during the monsoon season.
"After this, fishermen will be free to carry out fishing activities with safer navigation routes and encourage the economic and social activities of the local population," he said.
He said the Sungai Besutr estuary is the main navigation route for more than 400 fishing and tourist boats to dock at several jetties in the area including the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) jetty.
The existing breakwater that was built in 1998 is less effective in dealing with the problem of sand deposition and subsequently affecting the flow of river water to the sea.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency