Zahid orders 7 Bailey bridges to be built within 48 hours

 

A modular steel Bailey bridge being built in Baling, Kedah, in 2022 after a water surge destroyed the old bridge, cutting off several villages. (Bernama pic)

BAGAN DATUK: 

Bailey bridges must be built within 48 hours in seven locations cut off by the monsoon floods, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

He said he had directed that work to construct the Bailey bridges be expedited. “From the information I received, about seven locations have been identified for the construction of Bailey bridges,” he said.

“Permanent bridges will be built to replace the Bailey bridges, especially in rural areas,” he told reporters while on a constituency visit.

Zahid, who chairs the national disaster management committee, said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the public works department (JKR) have sufficient stock for the construction of Bailey bridges in the affected areas.

He would seek the cooperation of the army’s engineer regiment as well as the state and district JKR to take immediate action on the bridges “as there is a need to send aid (to) the residents and for rescue operations”.

Zahid said previously when the route between Segamat (Johor) and Rompin (Pahang) was cut off, a Bailey bridge was built within 72 hours. - FMT