After nearly RM4b spent, FT ministry scraps five out of 12 River of Life projects as ‘not significant enough’

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Five projects under the River of Life (RoL) initiative in the Klang Valley have been cancelled after Putrajaya reviewed 12 of its projects, which were still in the pre-execution phase.

The Federal Territories Ministry said it reviewed 12 of the RoL projects in the pre-execution stage to ensure that only the most significant initiatives proceed.

“Therefore, five projects have been cancelled as they are not significant enough to achieve the objectives of the River of Life’s implementation.

“However, seven other projects will proceed to achieve the initial objective of the project namely cleaning and beautifying rivers,” its minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said in a written reply to Parliament yesterday.

The RoL, launched by the federal government, aims to transform the Gombak River and the Klang River into dynamic and liveable waterfronts with high economic value.

The Auditor-General’s report in July found that the RoL project that was supposed to wrap up this year, is nowhere near completion.

The project has so far used up RM3.915 billion, making up 89.7 per cent of its ceiling cost.