Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal. – Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will proceed with the Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) project, as it will create many employment opportunities for the people, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal told the Sabah state assembly here today.
Saying that the state was now under the rule of a new government, he did not want to rush through the project without obtaining public view on this economic initiative.
“No development will be carried out at the expense of the people.
“As such, the government will undertake an in-depth study to determine if the project should be scaled down or if other steps should be taken,” he said when answering a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (Star-Tambunan) who said the public were concerned over environment destruction and that the beach would become inaccessible to them if the project were to be carried out.
Meanwhile, in replying to another supplementary question from Datuk Bolkiah Ismail (BN-Pitas) on the RM500 million grant for the project, Mohd Shafie, who is also state finance minister, said the state government would try and obtain the grant if the financial situation of the Federal government permits.
The state government has so far spent about RM60 million on the project which would only continue only after a review is undertaken.
“This is the same as in the case of the Pan Borneo Highway project, it must proceed but I understand that it will be restructured given the current financial constraints,” he said.
Last month, the Kota Kinabalu City Hall placed the Tanjung Aru Eco Development project on hold until a new directive is received from the new state government.
The TAED project, spanning 348 hectares, was gazetted on March 5, 2017, to provide a facelift to Tanjung Aru, which is already a renowned tourist attraction. - Bernama
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