Klang River is much cleaner than before, says Nik Nazmi

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has shared that the amount of trash removed from Klang River since 2016 annually continued to decline while the water quality of the river has slowly improved.

He added that the water quality was previously in Class Four and Five, but has improved to Class Two and even reached Class One during the rainy season. In addition, odour issues have been less frequent as well.

“Two river-cleaning machines (dubbed the Interceptors) have been used since 2019 and they have been instrumental in collecting rubbish, including plastic waste, showing how the state government, Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), and Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB) have achieved success,” he said.

Nik Nazmi said this to reporters after visiting Mangrove Point recreational park in Port Klang yesterday.

He had earlier witnessed a signing of a collaboration between LLSB with the United Nations for Malaysia and Brunei network.

Meanwhile, LLSB said in a statement that under the Selangor Maritime Gateway, 86,021 metric tonnes of floating rubbish, the equivalent of 470 Boeing 747 aircraft, was removed from the Klang River.

“The reduction of annual rubbish by 63 percent between 2016 and 2022 far exceeded the Phase 1 Key Performance Indicators set at 40 percent.

“Last year, the project saw 6,117 metric tonnes of trash removed monthly compared to a baseline in 2016 of 16,408 metric tonnes a month,” the company said.

- Bernama