Sabah govt urged to solve sand dumping problem in Kota Belud

KOTA BELUD, July 1  -- Usukan state assemblyman Datuk Japlin Akim has urged the Sabah state government to immediately look into ways to solve the issue over the dumping of river sand in the district, which is increasingly serious as it involved hundreds of  millions of tonnes. 

He said the state government had appointed several companies to carry out sand mining at the Kadamaian River up to Kuala Abai River mouth, for the purpose of deepening and clearing the rivers  to help address the flood problems in Kota Belud.

However, Japlin said the mining activities had given rise to surplus amount of sand and gravel that supply had far exceeded local market demand, especially from the construction industry.

"It is important that the state government find a solution to the  dumping of river sand in Kota Belud as the mining companies are having difficulties in selling existing supplies.

"The time has come for the state government to allow the sand to be exported overseas to solve the dumping problem and save the mining companies," he said in a statement today.

Japlin said poor river water flow was among common causes of the floods in Kota Belud.

The 2015 Ranau quake caused rivers to clog up, resulting in frequent flooding in the district during the rainy seasons in 2016, 2017, 2018 and most recently last Saturday, he said.

— BERNAMA