By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 15: Acknowledging the importance of the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), incumbent Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing says Bintulu residents will see a UTC being set up after the 15th General Election (GE15).
He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had approved one to be set up by 2018 to enable Bintulu residents to enjoy the services provided by the UTC near the Bintulu Old Bus Station.
The project was, however, cancelled by Pakatan Harapan (PH) when the coalition took over the Federal government after the 14th General Election (GE14).
“In 2018, we were supposed to have the UTC. But unfortunately, during that time, I think the PH government had cancelled a lot (of projects), and one of them was our UTC.
“The UTC facility is supposed to be set up nearby the Old Bus Station,” said Tiong told DayakDaily in an exclusive interview recently.
Tiong, who is also Dudong assemblyman, said the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), which owns the land near Old Bus Station, is now constructing a building there in collaboration with the private sector. He believed that once construction is complete, a UTC will be set up there.
“I have asked the Federal government to help me, but they said they needed planning and all these. So maybe after PRU (GE), we may be able to finalise that.
“I think now it is under construction by BDA. I think the building belongs to BDA, (which is) a joint venture with the private sector. I think the land belongs to BDA. They will announce it once the building has been raised,” said Tiong, the caretaker Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China.
He said UTC is crucial in the development of Bintulu to provide convenience to the large working population who can only make it on Saturdays and Sundays to apply for or renew official documents. — DayakDaily
