The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will open an investigation paper on a development project, believed to be the main cause of flash floods, at the Federal Highway yesterday.

The highway linking Kuala Lumpur to Shah Alam was congested with vehicles involved in a traffic snarl of five kilometres after three of the four lanes were flooded at about 3 pm, after two hours of heavy rain.

Kuala Lumpur Mayor, Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz, said based on observations, the source of flash the floods at the highway was due to clogged drains at a project site nearby.

“If it is true that the development project had caused the flash floods, we will issue a stop work order notice to the developer until they build a Temporary Retention Pond and a Cut Off Drain," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Among the areas affected by the flash floods were Pantai Dalam and Bangsar South.

Mhd Amin Nordin said that he visited the affected area with the developer yesterday and identified control measures, including the upgrading of the drainage capacity and improving drainage efficiency.

DBKL was committed to building several retention ponds to address flash floods in urban centres.

"The project is expected to start next year, involving focus areas such as Jalan Duta and the University of Malaya," he added.

-- Bernama