KOTA KINABALU, Oct 17 — Work is in progress to develop the current Kota Kinabalu port into one that is dedicated to cruise ships, said Suria Capital group managing director Datuk Ng Kiat Min.

"The long-term plan is for this port to be converted to a dedicated cruise port but that will probably happen about 10 years later. The Kota Kinabalu port is still very much a cargo port at the moment but we will service cruise ships that make a call here,” said Ng.

She told the press this during a plaque exchange ceremony with the captain of the Carnival Panorama Cruise Ship, Luca Lazzarino, in conjunction with its maiden call to Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

According to Ng, Kota Kinabalu is an important port in East Malaysia for cruise ships and it receives on average of 12 to 14 vessels annually.

"As a dedicated cruise port, the figure can easily double and by that time we will also have our commercial tourism-related property development, Jesselton Waterfront city plan, operating so everything is at the doorstep of cruise ship passengers in the future,” she said.

She said that Suria Capital Holdings which operates ports in Sabah, will be constructing another general cargo port and the operation at the Kota Kinabalu port will be moved there.

"It’s not just about the port, we are redeveloping the whole port into a tourism hub and while the development construction is in progress, we will still receive cruise ships that call at the Kota Kinabalu port.

"We will make the necessary adjustments to ensure that the disembarkation and embarkation of the ship’s passengers will be as smooth as possible,” said Ng.

Earlier, Captain Luca and the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary Mary Malangking exchanged mementos in conjunction with Carnival Panorama’s first visit to Sabah.

Captain Luca said Carnival Panorama and its 3,607 passengers will be travelling for 25 days from Singapore to Los Angeles, the ship’s home base.

"We started in Singapore and our first port of call was Phu My (Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam. Kota Kinabalu is our second port of call and from here we will sail to Manila in the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and finally Los Angeles,” he said.

According to Mary, the exchange of memento was to commemorate Carnival Panorama’s maiden visit to Sabah.

Meanwhile one of the Carnival Panorama’s passengers attracted a bit of attention at the port as her travelling partners were dolls she called her ‘mini me’.

Shonta Wallims from Oregon, USA who goes on cruise two to three times a year, said she has been traveling with her ‘twins’ Mini Me and Me Too for about 10 years

"Since I travel a lot, and sometimes I travel solo, these are my mini-me’s. They cruise with me, they don’t go everywhere with me, but they do go on every cruise with me. I told a friend of mine that I wanted a little version of me.

"And so, I sent her a picture and she made a little version of me, Mini Me. Then, a couple of years later, I wanted another little version of me and she made me Me Too,” said the train driver and part-time artist.

Shonta takes her twins out on a stroller and they are decked out with trinkets as well as jewellery that she buys for herself and them.

"They can’t be mini me if they do not have all of my beads and stuff,” she said. — The Borneo Post