By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Aug 30: The proposed second Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK 2) is expected to be ready by 2028.
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the contractor had been identified for the construction project, with the completion date set before 2028.
Upon completion, he said the new building will be able to host bigger conference events with a capacity of over 10,000 people at any one time.
“Presently, if we want to do marketing and host business events, the most that we can do is a conference that caters for below 5,000 people. If there are more than 5,000 conference participants, we will have to put it aside because we do not have the facility/venue.
“Thus, if we have everything in place (BCCK 2), we can go one level up where they can bid to host a conference that can cater for up to 10,000 people,” he told a press conference after witnessing the memorandum of agreement (MOA) exchange ceremony between Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) held at Baitul Makmur II in Petra Jaya here today.
He also added that during a Sarawak Cabinet meeting held last week, the members agreed to have the convention centres in Sarawak be put under and report to MTCP.
“Presently, they are not reporting to any ministry.
“I do not know how this matter was ‘terlepas pandang’ (overlooked), but the Premier has asked for them to be reporting to MTCP,” he added. — DayakDaily
