SIBU, Aug 6 — Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg tonight said it would cost a lot to restructure Sibu town due to its location in a swampy area.
He said it might even take billions to modernise Sibu.
“Restructuring Sibu won’t be a half-hearted effort. If it means billions, then we will have to look for the funds.
“That is what I am going to do for Sibu,” he said at a community dinner here.
He said the restructuring of the town is expected to last until 2035, beginning next year.
He said there will be a state coordinating committee meeting tomorrow to brainstorm the town’s restructuring.
He said he noticed that many areas are waterlogged, such as Bukit Assek and various housing estates.
“The town sits on peat soil so its water level must be properly managed,” he said.
Abang Johari said it is for this reason that the state government is engaging the views of experts from the Netherlands, Belgium and Singapore, which are countries that have successfully administered waterlogged areas.
“Today we have begun a preliminary study on what we want to do for Sibu until the year 2035.
“This means we have to restructure Sibu and we need the cooperation of the local people.
“We also need money that will come from the state government, as well as the public and private sectors to develop the whole of Sibu.
“If that happens, it means a lot of construction work will take place,” he said, including the construction of tunnels and lakes.
He said Sibu will have to be a modern town to attract investors and tourists.
He said a modern Sibu will have a spill-over effect on the upriver town of Kapit and downriver town of Sarikei.
He said timber was once the main economic activity in Sibu, but today, it is no longer the case because the state government does not allow logging activities to conserve forests for future carbon trading.
“So we have to find a solution for Sibu to replace timber as the core economic activity,” he said.
