RM60j naik taraf Pasar Payang

KUALA TERENGGANU – Kerajaan Negeri berhasrat menaik taraf Pasar Besar Kedai Payang (Pasar Payang) supaya lebih selesa dan berimej baru.

Penolong Pengarah (Usahawan dan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana) Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Terengganu, Zuwislan Awang berkata, kos untuk menaik taraf Pasar Payang dianggarkan kira-kira RM60 juta.

“Projek ini mungkin akan dilaksanakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10) nanti.

“Dalam perancangan kita juga, Pasar Payang selepas ini hanya akan menjual produk kraf, manakala pasar basah akan dialihkan,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika membentangkan kertas kerja bertajuk ‘Ranca�ngan Pembangunan negeri Terengganu dari 2009 hingga 2013’ pada Seminar Perancangan dan Pelaksanaan Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur (Ecer) dan Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Negeri Terengganu di Dewan Konvensyen Yayasan Pembangunan Usahawan (YPU) Terengganu, di sini, semalam.

Menurutnya, rancangan menaik taraf Pasar Payang adalah salah satu projek pembangunan di bawah Portfolio Pelancongan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan negeri.

Sementara itu, katanya, di bawah Rancangan Pembangunan Negeri juga, Kerajaan Negeri kini dalam proses memasang kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di seluruh bandar negeri ini yang boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah jenayah selain mewujudkan bandar selamat.

”Bagi mengatasi masalah banjir terutama di Taman Desa Pusu 3 pula, Kerajaan Negeri akan mewujudkan satu sistem perparitan yang lebih terancang dan sistematik,” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Zuwislan berkata, Kerajaan Negeri sekarang sedang membangunkan Bandar Baru Kijal yang dijangka siap pada 2012, manakala bagi projek Bandar Baru Bukit Besar pula, kini Kerajaan Negeri sedang membina kemudahan infrastruktur di kawasan itu.

Selain itu, katanya, di bawah Portfolio Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam pula, Kerajaan Negeri merancang mewujudkan rangkaian perhubungan bandar dan luar bandar yang lebih efisien bagi mengatasi masalah kesesakan lalu lintas disebabkan kawasan bandar raya negeri ini yang mempunyai terlalu banyak lampu isyarat.

“Bagi mengatasi isu kesesakan lalu lintas ini, kita merancang mewujudkan persimpangan berlingkar di bandar raya Kuala Terengganu dari Jalan Batu Burok ke Jalan Kamaruddin ke persimpangan Cabang Tiga-Kuala Berang,” katanya.

Terengganu approves 28 housing projects for the poor

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu government approved 28 housing projects for the hardcore poor between April last year and last month, with an allocation of RM492.8mil, Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said told the state assembly.

He said 15 of the projects were under implementation while the 13 others were in the design state. Altogether, they involve 9,811 housing units.

“The state government decided to use the direct negotiation method in offering the projects to speed up the process because the tender method, as experienced in seven projects thus far, took up to almost one year,” he said when replying to a question from Datuk Din Adam (Bukit Besi-BN).

Datuk Rosol Wahid (Ajil-BN), in a supplementary question, asked the state government to explain the criteria used to select contractors for the projects to avert a delay as had happened in his constituency, involving the construction of 317 houses at RPR Batu 22 Ajil at a cost of more than RM36mil.

Ahmad said the contractors were appointed based on several factors, including the background of the company, financial position and experience.

He said it was usual for the contractors to show they were the best when vying for the projects but after they were awarded the job, they would come up with all kinds of excuses including blaming the (rainy) weather for being unable to complete the work.

He also said that the government paid the contractors based on the progress of work in order to avert delays to a project, adding that contractors who failed to complete any project were blacklisted.

Meanwhile, State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Dr Abd Rahman Mohtar told the assembly that 187 cases of cholera, including one death, were reported in Terengganu between Nov 10 and Dec 9.

Replying to a question from Alias Razak (PAS-Bukit Tunggal), he said the state health department adopted strict measures to control the spread of the disease, including closing restaurants, keropok lekor (fish crackers) outlets and ice factories.

He said the department suspected that the source of the cholera virus was some foreign crew of fishing boats which docked at the Chendering port. — Bernama

RM60j naik taraf Pasar Payang

KUALA TERENGGANU – Kerajaan Negeri berhasrat menaik taraf Pasar Besar Kedai Payang (Pasar Payang) supaya lebih selesa dan berimej baru.

Penolong Pengarah (Usahawan dan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana) Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Terengganu, Zuwislan Awang berkata, kos untuk menaik taraf Pasar Payang dianggarkan kira-kira RM60 juta.

“Projek ini mungkin akan dilaksanakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10) nanti.

“Dalam perancangan kita juga, Pasar Payang selepas ini hanya akan menjual produk kraf, manakala pasar basah akan dialihkan,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika membentangkan kertas kerja bertajuk ‘Ranca�ngan Pembangunan negeri Terengganu dari 2009 hingga 2013’ pada Seminar Perancangan dan Pelaksanaan Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur (Ecer) dan Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Negeri (Upen) Negeri Terengganu di Dewan Konvensyen Yayasan Pembangunan Usahawan (YPU) Terengganu, di sini, semalam.

Menurutnya, rancangan menaik taraf Pasar Payang adalah salah satu projek pembangunan di bawah Portfolio Pelancongan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan negeri.

Sementara itu, katanya, di bawah Rancangan Pembangunan Negeri juga, Kerajaan Negeri kini dalam proses memasang kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di seluruh bandar negeri ini yang boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah jenayah selain mewujudkan bandar selamat.

”Bagi mengatasi masalah banjir terutama di Taman Desa Pusu 3 pula, Kerajaan Negeri akan mewujudkan satu sistem perparitan yang lebih terancang dan sistematik,” katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Zuwislan berkata, Kerajaan Negeri sekarang sedang membangunkan Bandar Baru Kijal yang dijangka siap pada 2012, manakala bagi projek Bandar Baru Bukit Besar pula, kini Kerajaan Negeri sedang membina kemudahan infrastruktur di kawasan itu.

Selain itu, katanya, di bawah Portfolio Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam pula, Kerajaan Negeri merancang mewujudkan rangkaian perhubungan bandar dan luar bandar yang lebih efisien bagi mengatasi masalah kesesakan lalu lintas disebabkan kawasan bandar raya negeri ini yang mempunyai terlalu banyak lampu isyarat.

“Bagi mengatasi isu kesesakan lalu lintas ini, kita merancang mewujudkan persimpangan berlingkar di bandar raya Kuala Terengganu dari Jalan Batu Burok ke Jalan Kamaruddin ke persimpangan Cabang Tiga-Kuala Berang,” katanya. i.

Four workers injured in collapse

KUALA BERANG: Four workers were injured when the almost completed glass roof of the new bus and taxi terminal here collapsed.

The RM4.2mil Kuala Berang Express Bus and Taxi Terminal is the fourth public building in Terengganu to suffer from structural problems in the past six months.

In the incident which occurred at 3.15pm yesterday, the 150m-long roof — also called a skylight reflector and made up of hundreds of glass panes — came tumbling down in a loud crash when the steel structure holding it up gave way.

Fifteen workers were installing the glass panes at the main entrance of the terminal during the collapse.

Unsafe zone: What’s left of the collapsed skylight reflector of the bus terminal in Kuala Berang.

Kuala Berang is a major transport hub in the interior of Terengganu and is the main hop-off point for those visiting Tasik Kenyir.

The four who were injured yesterday — a Malaysian supervisor and three Bangladeshis — were cut by pieces of glass when the panes smashed into pieces.

Two of them were working on top of the roof while the other two were standing below.

They were rushed to the Hulu Terengganu Hospital where they received out-patient treatment.

Site supervisor Zahir Hariri, when met at his office close to the construction site, said he heard a thunderous noise while he was attending to some work.

“I dashed out only to discover the glass roof had crumbled. The injured workers were lying on the ground,” he said.

He said work on the 27.4m-wide roof started last week and was almost nearing completion.

He said only wiring work was being done at the terminal before its scheduled opening in February.

“Preliminary checks revealed that the incident could have occurred due to shoddy workmanship,” he added.

Construction of the terminal began in March last year.

The project is under the jurisdiction of the Hulu Terengganu District Council.

Council president Mohd Nor Ibrahim declined to comment.

In June, the roof of the RM300mil Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium collapsed. The stadium was only a year old.

A month later, the Public Works Department closed the RM18mil Batu Burok Aquatic Complex after declaring it unsafe.

Following the two incidents, the PWD was sent to check the Sultan Mahmud Airport, which was also just a year old at the time, and discovered that the roof was leaking.

Drainage system study to alleviate Terengganu floods

KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- The Terengganu government is to undertake a comprehensive study of the drainage system in the state as one of several measures to alleviate floods in the state, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said told the state legislative assembly today.

He said the state government would improve the drainage system in areas prone to floods.

The Public Works Department would raise the level of flood-prone roads and build more concrete drains to channel off excess water easily, he added when replying to a question from Rosli Othman (BN-Kemasik).

Replying to a supplementary question, from Muhammad Ramli Nuh (BN-Tepoh), Ahmad said the state government had allocated RM21 million for the Public Works Department (JKR) to repair state roads damaged by the recent floods.

He said the JKR would also repair damaged federal roads with a RM35 million allocation provided by the federal government.

"Other roads will be repaired by the district councils, which had been allocated RM20 million for the purpose," he said.

Sengkuap kaca runtuh

Oleh IRMAN HASHIM
pengarang@utusan.com.my

HULU TERENGGANU 21 Dis. - Tiga pekerja Bangladesh dan seorang pekerja tempatan cedera apabila sengkuap kaca pada bumbung terminal pengangkutan awam bernilai RM4.2 juta yang sedang dalam pembinaan di Kuala Berang di sini runtuh hari ini.

Kejadian berlaku kira-kira pukul 3 petang semalam ketika mangsa sedang melakukan kerja-kerja memasang plat kaca itu untuk sengkuap bumbung bahagian hadapan bangunan itu.

Pembinaan bumbung tersebut bermula sejak seminggu lalu.

Penyelia projek, Zahir Hariri berkata, dia terdengar bunyi yang kuat ketika berada di pejabat sementaranya yang terletak berhampiran terminal tersebut.

Menurutnya, dia terkejut apabila keluar dari pejabatnya dan mendapati kaca sengkuap sepanjang 27.4 meter itu runtuh.

''Kejadian itu menyebabkan dua pekerja warga Bangladesh yang berada di atas bumbung dan dua lagi iaitu seorang warga Bangladesh dan seorang rakyat tempatan yang berada di bawah cedera,'' katanya ketika ditemui di tempat kejadian di sini hari ini.

Beliau menambah, kesemua mangsa yang mengalami cedera ringan di bahagian kaki, dahi dan tangan akibat terkena serpihan kaca itu kemudiannya dihantar ke Hospital Hulu Terengganu dan dirawat sebagai pesakit luar.

Sementara itu, salah seorang pekerja yang enggan dikenali memberitahu, kesemua kira-kira 15 pekerja yang berada di kawasan pembinaan terkejut dengan kejadian itu yang berlaku secara tiba-tiba tanpa sebarang petanda.

''Saya tidak mendengar sebarang bunyi benda retak sebelum runtuhan berlaku,'' katanya yang enggan mengulas lanjut mengenai kejadian itu.

Dalam pada itu, Yang Dipertua Majlis Daerah Hulu Terengganu, Mohd. Nor Ibrahim ketika dihubungi enggan mengulas mengenai kejadian itu.

Sun shining on the poor

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu Government is looking at extending statewide solar-powered electricity supply to homes of the hardcore poor.

Seven hardcore poor families in Gong Mak Son, Besut are the first to get the free and environment-friendly power supply. The families living in houses built under the Government’s Poverty Eradication Programme had been relying on aging diesel generators.

The solar power project was initiated by Jerteh assemblyman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, with the equipment manufactured and installed by Terengganu-based SolarTIF Sdn Bhd.

State Industrial, Commerce and Environment Committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw said the state hoped to gradually convert the source of electricity in rural villages to the green energy.

Getting help from the sun: Idris (middle) looking at the supply room in Gong Mak Son, Besut.

“It’s not only environmentally friendly, it saves cost too,” he told StarMetro here on Monday.

He said SolarTIF was able to manufacture the equipment at its plant in Chendering and the hardcore poor would not need to worry about paying the monthly electricity bills once the solar system was installed at their houses.

“The company has the technology and the state government will have to work closely with them to lay out the plans,” said Toh.

He said the system would phase out the dependency on diesel-powered generators which were uneconomical and noisy.

“It is not prudent for the state to continue using these generators, hence solar power is an alternative to be looked into,” he added.

According to Idris, the Government spent RM100,000 to install the solar-thermal gadgets at the seven homes thus enabling the families to enjoy free and undisrupted electricity supply.

He explained that the system used a photovoltaic (PV) module capable of generating 1,980W of energy through 18 absorber tubes.

“The system is based on a linked collection of photovoltaic modules, which are in turn made of multiple interconnected solar cells.

“The cells convert solar energy into direct electricity current. An inverter is used to convert that into alternating current which can be channeled into existing infrastructure,” he said.

Idris added that the system was equipped with a battery back-up circuit.

He visited Gong Mak Son recently and switched on the light in one of the houses to symbolise the launch of the power suppply project for the poor in Besut.

The event was witnessed by Besut MP Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin and SolarTIF chief executive officer Shamsul Ezan Zairi.

Idris said the system was capable of generating supply for the next 25 years.