The Sungai Sarawak Regulation Scheme (acronym SSRS) is a major civil engineering project in Kuching

Kuching

Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....

, Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, Malaysia. This project incorporates a 3-in-1 infrastructure (barrage

Tidal barrage

A tidal barrage is a dam-like structure used to capture the energy from masses of water moving in and out of a bay or river due to tidal forces....

, shiplock

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

 and bridge) which is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

History

The Sungai Sarawak basin area experience floods as a result of heavy rainfall from upstream, king tides

King tide

King tide is the popular name for an especially high tide. The phrase is used mostly in Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific nations.In the lunar month, the highest tides occur roughly every 14 days, at the new and full moons, when the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun are in line...

, poor drainage, or a combination of these factors. In low-lying residential areas, floods occur every 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar

Lunar calendar

A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...

.

Design

The SSRS consists of:

1. Bako Causeway
2. Pending Causeway
3. Barrage & Shiplock (and a bridge over the barrage)
4. 6 units of rainfall & water telemetry stations (18 units added later and installed with Remote Radio Communication Stations and early flood warning systems)

Phase I

Phase I of the SSRS project is the construction of the Bako Causeway, the first causeway in Sarawak. The construction involved creating a rock-filled closure across Loba Santubong on Jalan Bako and was completed in August 1993.

Phase II

Phase II of the SSRS project is the construction of the main Barrage Facility (Kuching Barrage and Shiplock), comprising:

1. a barrage of five radial gates controlling the Sarawak River,
2. a 125m long by 25m wide shiplock, and
3. a 435m long four lane road bridge over both barrage and lock, linking the Demak Laut Industrial Park to the Kuching Isthmus
   Isthmus
   An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
   
   .

The groundbreaking

Groundbreaking

Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...

 ceremony of the Barrage, Shiplock and Bridge was held on 25 July 1995 and graced by Abdul Taib Mahmud

Abdul Taib Mahmud

Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud is the fourth and current Chief Minister of Sarawak. He is also the state Financial Minister and Planning and Resource Management Minister. Taib is the President of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu , which is part of the Barisan Nasional coalition...

, the Chief Minister of Sarawak.

Phase III

The components of Phase III of the SSRS project are:

1. The Construction of the Pending Causeway, a rock fill dam across the Sarawak River at Jalan Keruing in Pending.
2. The Construction of a four lane road linking Pending with Sejingkat.
3. The Installation of a Telemetry System comprising 6 units of rainfall and water telemetry stations as an early warning device for the barrage operators.

The rainfall and water telemetry stations were installed at the following locations:

1. Kampung Sandong
2. Kampung Bengoh
3. Kampung Skio
4. Kampung Blinbim
5. Kampung Siburuh
6. Kampung Bogag

Phases II and III were constructed simultaneously and was completed in November 1997 at a cost of RM150 million.

The Kuching Barrage and Shiplock was officiated by Mahathir bin Mohamad

Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...

, Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Operation of Kuching Barrage and Shiplock

The barrage and shiplock is managed and operated by Kuching Barrage Management Sdn. Bhd., under the supervision of the Sarawak Rivers Board and is governed by The Sarawak Rivers (Sungai Sarawak Barrage) Regulations 1997, which states as follows:

to operate and maintain any barrage or shiplock, and regulate and control the passage of vessels through such barrage or shiplock, and to impose fees or tolls in such vessels passing through the same.

Real-time water and rainfall data is collected by the telemetry system and based on computational model of the Sarawak River. The predicted discharge and water level are the two main factors in deciding when to operate the barrage gates. All data collection and information will be processed by a sophisticated river analysis software known as MIKE-II.