JOHOR BARU: The Pulau Kukup National Park is set to welcome visitors again after being closed for over four years, says Johor executive councillor Ling Tian Soon.
The health and environment committee chairman said prior to its closure in 2019, the national park was a popular destination for those who visited Kukup, Pontian.
“The closure was due to damaged facilities including the island’s jetty, which were deemed unsafe for visitors.
“The state government had since spent RM600,000 to build a temporary floating jetty while the Iskandar Regional Development Authority channelled RM2.4mil to repair and upgrade the other facilities on the island,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (April 7).
He added that Johor National Park Corporation has decided to reopen the 647ha national park by the end of April or early May following the completion of the projects.
“Although there is a temporary floating jetty on the island, it is unable to cater to large groups of tourists at a time.
“As such, the number of visitors to Pulau Kukup has to be limited for the time being and discussions with local tourism operators will be held to make sure they keep the corporation informed about the number of visitors who wish to go to the island,” he said.
Ling added that the corporation has also received about RM20mil from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to build a brand new jetty and other facilities on Pulau Kukup, which is one of the largest mangrove islands in the world.
The concept and design of the projects have been completed and are currently in the tender stage, he said.
