KUCHING, May 9 (Bernama) -- In a move to turn Santubong in the outskirts of this city into a premier tourist attraction, a RM50 million cable car project will be undertaken to ferry visitors in comfort on a scenic ride amid lush greenery up the legendary Mount Santubong there.
State Urban Development and Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said the project, which would start in August and scheduled to be completed in two years, would be another significant new attraction for the Damai and Santubong areas and Sarawak as a whole.
"The primary appeal is its ability to offer tourists a spectacular view of the surrounding area including the forested slopes of the mountain. It is this rainforest setting that is the main selling point of the cable car system.
"I hope the establishment of the cable car system will become another milestone in the development of the area not only as a new tourism product for Sarawak but also to provide job opportunities for the people living in Santubong, Buntal and Bako," he told reporters, here Wednesday.
Later, Wong represented the state government in signing the concession agreement for the project with Santubong Cable Car Sdn Bhd (SCC), which was represented by its Executive Chairman, Abang Nawawi Abang Drahman.
Wong said the state government had granted the Sarawak-based Bumiputera company exclusive rights to design, build, complete, commission, operate and manage the cable car system for a period of 60 years.
Meanwhile, Abang Nawawi said the detachable mono-cable system would have 8-seater gondolas that could climb to a height of 769 metres and that its inclined length would be 2,535 metres.
He said the gondolas could travel up to a maximum speed of five metres per second from the base station, located at the foothill of the 810-metre mountain near the Sarawak Cultural Village.
tunku : i wonder who got this direct nego project??
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To be fair the company not government is investing funds to build the cable car. What the article does not mention is that prime beachside state land is being given for the base station and commercial shops and restaurants. This land has a high market value. To be commercially viable the cable car will need approx 250,000 visitors per year. Its debatable whether that volume can be reached based on the low volume of foreign tourists the Santubong area attracts. That is why the free land is so important. The commercial operations at the base station near Damai Beach will be crucial to get the investment back.
There is also no mention of the whether the cable car will be brand new or 'second hand', ie a refurbished one. Previously there was some talk of using a second unit from Langkawi. Whether that would cost RM 50-60 million is open to debate.
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