MUFG, Affin Bank Sponsor Operating Costs Of Interceptor 002 For Sungai Klang Clean-up

SHAH ALAM, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- MUFG Bank (Malaysia) Berhad (MUFG) and Affin Bank Berhad (Affin) will sponsor the operating costs of Interceptor 002 to ensure the smooth running of the Sungai Klang clean-up.

Selangor Agriculture and Infrastructure Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim said Affin Bank will sponsor RM1.5 million for three years, while MUFG will chip in with a one-off RM250,000.

He said that, so far, the project to clean up the nearly 56-kilometre (km) long river under the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) initiative has collected nearly 500,000 tonnes of rubbish and mud to ensure the river's restoration can be achieved within five years.

"This (the Sungai Klang restoration) is a five-year plan… we have dug out rubbish and mud. Sungai Klang is four metres deep, and we found that an average of three metres is filled with rubbish and mud.

"Therefore, in line with the dredging and clean-up, the river is now back to four metres deep. But we need to strengthen the riverbank,” he said when met after the official ceremony marking the strategic collaboration between Affin Bank, MUFG and SMG here today.

 The Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, graced the event and signed a plaque as a symbol of the cooperation that has been forged between the companies involved in the initiative.

Her Royal Highness also saw for herself how the Interceptor 002, a solar-powered automated garbage collection barge, trapped and collected floating rubbish in Sungai Klang before it flows into the sea.

Also present were Affin Bank president and Group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali and the Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, Shikata Noriyuki. 

-- BERNAMA