KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) will embark on a feasibility study for the proposed high-capacity groundwater storage channel as part of the flash floods mitigation plan for the federal capital.
Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah said it would hold a meeting with the DID on the matter soon.
"Our engineers will be involved in the discussion. Among the aspects that we will consider are the location, the size and the project cost estimates, as well as the scope of work for the consultant that will carry out the (feasibility) study.
"We expect the consultant to complete the study within three months after being appointed," he said when met at the World Environment Day celebration in Taman Tugu, here.
If approved, Mahadi said the tunnel would store excess water from heavy downpours and it will serve as one of the components in addressing flash floods in the city, citing one such anti-flood underground water channel in Tokyo.
It has a tunnel built 50m below ground and stretches for about 6km, with large shafts measuring 30m in diameter and 70m tall.
Meanwhile, Mahadi said DBKL has started implementing its 14 interim and long-term measures to mitigate the impact of flash floods in the city.
Among them are upgrading scupper drains, clearing the drains and rivers of debris that could hinder water flow; and building 12ml river flood walls to contain the waters that may rise to unusual levels during extreme weather events.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has recently said DBKL would cooperate with the DID to build a high-capacity groundwater storage tunnel to address the flash floods in KL.
He said the proposed project was one of the long-term solutions that would take about three to five years to complete.