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21st January, 2008
KOTA KINABALU: Like the Sydney Harbour in Australia, the Kinabalu Harbour Front is poised to become the new landscape for Kota Kinabalu city.
The waterfront areas and surrounding hinterland are being developed into a world-class waterfront city, according to the Sabah Development Corridor’s (SDC) socio-economic blueprint.
Made available to the media recently, the blueprint however, said no reclamation of land would be allowed to ensure environmental sustainability.
The Kinabalu Harbour Front – spanning from Tanjung Aru to One Borneo – will be anchored by a few key projects, including Jesselton Waterfront and Kinabalu Integrated Convention Centre (KICC).
These key locations will be served by water taxis and water buses plying along the harbour front, beginning from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport near Tanjung Aru, to One Borneo.
Jetties will be built, and hotels will be encouraged to use this service to ferry their guests, the blueprint said.
According to the report in the blueprint, the RM2 billion Jesselton Waterfront would be completed over 15 years and feature a myriad of facilities for commercial, residential, entertainment, retail, accommodation and convention needs.
It will also house a maritime museum and the new ferry and cruise terminal.
The KKIC, which houses a convention centre to accommodate 5,000 seated delegates, a convention hotel and a high-end spa resort, is also poised to tap into the fast-growing and high margin business.
When completed, the Kinabalu Harbour Front development will transform the face of Kota Kinabalu, making it a major destination for both leisure and business tourism.
The Sabah Development Corridor is the brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and is intended to accelerate future development in the state.
On Jan 29, Abdullah will launch the SDC at the Sepanggar Container Port, here.
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