Better facilities for Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup parks

The boardwalk at Tanjung Piai National Park was repaired with the Johor government’s 2019 funding. – Filepic

THE Johor National Parks Corporation (PTNJ) is planning to set up a mangrove discovery centre at the Tanjung Piai National Park.

State tourism, environment, heritage and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said the centre would include a management office, toilets, souvenir stalls, cafeteria, surau and a leisure area to improve the visitor experience.

“PTNJ is also planning to set up a mangrove research centre to replace the existing management office at the Pulau Kukup National Park.

“The research centre will also be equipped with a hostel and laboratory for visiting researchers to conduct their studies, aside from the public amenities similar to the discovery centre in Tanjung Piai,” he said during the state assembly sitting at Kota Iskandar.

Raven Kumar said this in response to Datuk Jefridin Atan (BN-Kukup) who asked about the state government’s plans to upgrade the amenities at tourism spots such as the Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup national parks.

“Besides that, short-term efforts will be carried out at both national parks.

“We plan to upgrade the existing toilets, surau and ticketing counters at Tanjung Piai and at Pulau Kukup. We plan to upgrade the management office and step up promotional efforts to bring in more visitors to the national park,” he said.

With the state government’s allocation in 2020, maintenance works for the Pulau Kukup National Park boardwalk were carried out while the pedestrian walkway in Tanjung Piai National Park was repaired with the state’s 2019 funding, he added.

Raven Kumar said back in 2014, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority also carried out upgrades at Pulau Kukup, focusing on improving the national park’s facilities such as walkways, information boards and toilets.