PUTRA HEIGHTS FIRE: KPKT IMPLEMENTS THREE PHASES TO REBUILD AFFECTED AREA - NGA

TAPAH, April 10 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) is carrying out a three main phases to rebuild the areas affected by the devastating gas pipeline fire incident in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on April 1.

Its Minister Nga Kor Ming said that the area has now entered the recovery phase after he visited the site of the incident yesterday.

In a press conference following the KPKT Sentuhan Kasih 3.0 Programme at the Tapah Road Public Market today, he explained that KPKT had set up a special task force on the day of the incident to initiate recovery efforts.

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“The first phase, which involved rescue operations, has been completed. The second phase, the recovery work, will begin this weekend, with over 2,000 personnel from SWCorp, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), local authorities (PBT) will be mobilised for cleanup efforts on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

He also noted that the final phase, construction, would be the most challenging, as 219 houses were affected, 81 of which were completely destroyed and require immediate repairs.

“I submitted the action plan for reconstruction to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday through a special note to the Cabinet. I hope construction work can begin as soon as possible after discussions with the Selangor Menteri Besar and Petronas,” he said.

Nga added that the decision on the reconstruction of the area would be announced by the Prime Minister.

He added that the MADANI Government is deeply concerned about the recovery process of the affected areas and is committed to rebuilding the area as thoroughly as possible.

KPKT had previously announced that the action plan for the repair and reconstruction of the affected houses was prepared by a special task force and submitted to the Prime Minister yesterday.

Repair and reconstruction will commence as soon as the plan is approved.

The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which broke out around 8.10 am on April 1, sent flames more than 30 metres into the sky, with temperatures soaring to 1,000 degrees Celsius. It took nearly eight hours for the blaze to be fully extinguished.

-- BERNAMA