Apartment project next to busy city highway worries residents

 

The 4,000 square feet construction site along Jalan Robson is set to turn into a 13-storey high-rise in two years’ time.

KUALA LUMPUR: A tiny plot of land in Seputeh is giving the area’s residents some large headaches. To their despair, an area of just 4,000 square feet ( 372 square metres) on a hill slope at Jalan Robson is being developed into a 13-storey apartment high-rise in two years’ time.

The construction site is perched just above Jalan Syed Putra, one of the city’s most congested highways, and community members are fearful that any mishaps during construction – especially piling – could potentially wreak havoc on the road below.

Apart from concerns about the already heavy traffic on Jalan Robson, residents also told FMT that floods and landslides are other features of the area which make the construction of high-rise developments in Seputeh a risky business.

One resident estimated that 7,000 residents in the area use Jalan Robson every day, many of whom live in the various condominiums in the area.

Jalan Robson is also the only access road to Thean Hou temple and SRJK (C) Kuen Cheng.

Last October, a landslide just outside Thean Hou temple nearly buried the ground floor of a nearby apartment building and forced the evacuation of its residents. Kuala Lumpur mayor Mahadi Che Ngah was reported later to have said that several areas in Seputeh were affected by soil erosion after hills in the vicinity were levelled.

The area is known for soil erosion issues, and residents are worried of another landslide like this one in October 2020, which nearly buried the ground floor of a nearby apartment.

The 4,000 sq ft project will have six storeys of service apartments, three floors of offices, and two each for car parks and gardens.

It was initially proposed in 2018 but had to be shelved by the authorities after various objections from residents. Now residents see a signboard outside the site stating that construction on the site started on March 1 and is expected to be completed in Feb 2023.

Despite a nearby condominium management body writing a letter to Mahadi on March 23 to voice its grievances about the project, neither the mayor nor the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) have yet to address the resident’s concerns.

“It’s common sense. Prevention is better than cure,” said M Kayveas, a long-time resident of the area. “If the authorities allow this project, there will be landslides, casualties and deaths. Only then will they start making noise saying that the development should not have been allowed to happen.”

Kayveas, a former president of Barisan Nasional component party MyPPP, was once a deputy minister of housing and local government. He told FMT that the project’s developer did not take into consideration the traffic flow of the area and the threat of landslides, floods and accidents.

The front view of an apartment in Seputeh where residents were forced to evacuate after an October 2020 landslide.

Pointing out that the project was precariously close to Jalan Syed Putra, Kayveas said that apart from the danger this would pose the motorists on the busy highway below, the project’s completion would mean that city planners would not be able to widen Jalan Syed Putra if they wished to in the future.

Another resident who wished to remain anonymous said that he doubted whether environment, traffic or social impact assessments were conducted before the project got off the ground.

And with soil erosion a constant worry, the resident also questioned whether geotechnical analysis of the area was carried out – which would provide accurate information about the land’s topography, geology, drainage, water catchment areas and other natural features for engineers to act upon.

M Kayveas.

Noting that the traffic jam along Jalan Robson is “bumper-to-bumper” during weekdays, the resident said the community was “startled” to see notice of the project’s development on a signboard next to the site.

Kayveas, meanwhile, pushed the area’s residents to be more vocal about such projects, stressing that authorities should not misconstrue the community’s opposition to yet another high-rise development in a city already full of skyscrapers.

“When we say something against the authorities, it doesn’t mean we are not happy with them and all the good work they have done,” Kayveas said.

“But that doesn’t give them the right to violate the laws of nature and the environment. Developments like these will not serve the next generation well, and we should always have them in our minds when thinking about projects like these.”

Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun told FMT he would get his officers to check on the matter. FMT is awaiting a response from the developer and DBKL. - FMT