KUCHING (Aug 4): The federal government has approved RM72.8 million for a riverbank protection project along Batang Sadong at Kampung Hulu and Kampung Hilir in Serian to address ongoing erosion and flooding issues.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the project, to be implemented through the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), was approved under the Fifth Rolling Plan (RP5) of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) for 2025.

“The main scope of the project involves the construction of riverbank stabilisation structures to overcome the problem of collapsing riverbanks in the affected areas,” he said in his written answer to Serian MP Dato Sri Richard Riot Jaem in Parliament today.

The parliamentary reply was shared to The Borneo Post by Riot’s office.

Fadillah said survey and detailed design works will be carried out this year, while physical construction is expected to begin in mid-2027.

Erosion and flooding have long affected villages along Batang Sadong, particularly Kampung Hulu and Kampung Hilir, which are frequently inundated during the monsoon season.