The bauxite waste clean-up in Kuantan, Pahang is expected to be completed by early February, said Fire and Rescue Department director-general Wan Mohd Noor Ibrahim.

He said to date, 30 percent of the areas polluted with bauxite waste had been cleaned up.

"We have succeeded in washing about five percent of the area daily and the entire task is expected to be over by early next month," he told reporters after opening the PLC Group's Emergency Control Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

Meanwhile, he said standard operating procedure (SOPs) should be established to ensure the affected areas would not be polluted by bauxite waste after the clean-up had been completed.

"If bauxite mining areas were to start operations again after this, SOPs should be in place so that the areas would be free from bauxite pollution," he noted.

Yesterday, Pahang Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Morni Mamat was reported as saying that a 30km stretch from Jalan Pintasan in Kuantan to the port had been cleaned up of bauxite waste in a week.

He elaborated that the route covered Kampung Padang in Bukit Goh to the Gebeng Industrial area.

Morni added that the cleaning operation was conducted daily from 8am to 2pm since Jan 14.

- Bernama