Bandar Seri Begawan - As Heavy rains continued to deluge the capital yesterday, work continued on clearing silt and sediment from Sungai Menglait and Sungai Kedayan so the rivers could channel rain runoff quickly and avoid flooding in the area.

The Public Works Department (PWD) through its Department of Drainage and Sewerage has awarded several dredging projects along the rivers to a local contractor who is deploying a world-class, versatile and maneuverable dredger ideal for clearing local waterways.

The Minister of Development Pehin Prang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar and other ministry officials yesterday witnessed a demonstration of the new dredger's abilities on Sungai Menglait.

PWD's Drainage and Sewerage Director Young Chee Yen told The Brunei Times that this was the first time Brunei was using a "new piece of specialised equipment" for dredging.

The dredging machine is currently being used to clear a section of Sungai Menglait near The Mall, in Gadong.

"The main function of using this new machinery is to address the issue of floods. This is part of our ongoing efforts to tackle the (accumulation of silt and sediments in drains and rivers)," Young said.

He added that dredging the rivers would help in the event of heavy rain, such as Bandar Seri Begawan has experienced over the past two days.

"We want to keep our waterways at their maximum capacity. During heavy rain, we want them to have the maximum storage capacity they were designed to cope with, as when they are blocked with silt, it reduces their capacity," he said.

Young said that although the PWD installed the waterways to avert flooding, they ended up choked with silt. Despite the good news that specialised equipment is being used to clear the waterways, Young said that the PWD was still looking for other solutions.

"We keep an open mind to new technology, and welcome any other products that could help desilt rivers in Brunei," Young said.

The director added that the demonstration yesterday gave the ministry an opportunity to see how efficient and effective the machinery was. "This first project at Sungai Menglait is like a pilot project. We want to see if the machinery lives up to what it is cracked up to be," he said.

Three other project sites along Sungai Kedayan have been contracted to the local operator to clear, after completing the first project.

An added benefit of the new machine is that it can be used to separate sand dredged from the river beds. According to Young, the silt is mostly sand, separated by a filtration process through a discharge hose so it can be reused. "Dredging allows us to salvage material that can be reused, such as for construction purposes," he said.

The ministry advised river users to keep a reasonable, safe distance from the dredger and its floating discharge hose, but maintained that the dredging activity would not create danger.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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