Sungai Segget clean-up to beautify city

Sungai Segget clean-up to beautify city

Work on the first phase of the Johor Baru City Centre transformation plan (JBCCTP) will start in the middle of this year with the tearing down of the culverts that covered Sungai Segget along Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the Federal Government had allocated RM200mil for the projects, which include the river clean-up, as part of the RM1.8bil allocation under the JBCCTP.

‘The Sungai Segget cleaning up project would involve three parts - improving the sewerage system, flood mitigation and beautification of the river stretch and its surrounding areas.”
The river will flow through:The currently covered stretch of Sungai Segget which flows along Jalan Wong Ah Fook in downtown Johor Baru will be opened up under the RM200mil beautification project of the river.

He said the authorities had already selected the two designs for the Sungai Segget river project.

He said tenders would also be called two months from now for the sewerage improvement system.

Abdul Ghani said this at the groundbreaking ceremony of a new RM9mil Jalan Kolam Ayer Mosque – the first eco-friendly mosque in Johor which uses solar power to power the building and rainwater for ablations.

Sungai Segget, is one of the dirtiest rivers in the country, which flows along Jalan Wong Ah Fook in the Johor Baru city downtown area. Several years ago, the Government spent RM6mil to cover the river with culverts and built pedestrian walkway on it.

Abdul Ghani said the beautification of Sungai Segget would start from a ramp near Hotel Tropical Inn, which would be converted into an iconic open space up to Jalan Tun Seri Lanang.

“The whole 2km stretch will be known as JB Wave and Jalan Wong Ah Fook will be turned into a non-vehicle zone as we want pedestrians and visitors to enjoy the new Sungai Segget,’’ he said

He said property owners within the Johor Baru city centre where the transformation plan would take place had given their fully cooperation as they knew the benefits the project would bring to the area.

The JBCCTP covers 485.62ha area within the Johor Baru city central area including Bukit Timbalan, the former sites of the Lumba Kuda and Bukit Chagar low-cost flats, Bukit Chagar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex and Tanjung Puteri Lorry Customs Complex.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), the Government has allocated RM1.8bil to rehabilitate and transform Johor Baru city into a vibrant city in line with its status as one of the five flagship development zones in Iskandar Malaysia.

The country’s first economic growth corridor launched on Nov 4, 2006, spanning 2,217 sq km in the southernmost part of Johor divided into five zones – the other four zones are Nusajaya, Eastern Gate Development, Western Gate Development and Senai-Kulai.

~News courtesy of The Star~