By Lian Cheng and Chris Bishop
KUCHING, Sept 12: Non-Sarawakians are allowed to buy Neu Pendington property following the 5.1-hectare land being declared as a ‘development area’ by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
This is another step taken by the Sarawak government to attract more foreign talents, apart from the fact that Sarawak has been given five-year working visas for foreigners.
“(Neu) Pendington has been declared as a ‘development area’, meaning those who are non-Sarawakians are allowed to buy its property. So it can become Malaysia My Second Home (for foreigners).
“So I leave it to Uda (Uda Holding Berhad) to launch its own marketing so that people can invest and own property here with easy access.
“I had given instruction for expatriate officers serving in foreign companies. They are given working visas at one go — five years. (There are) no more year by year (application). So we develop our industrial area so that they can stay in modern apartments,” Abang Johari said during the Neu Pendington earth-breaking ceremony today.
Situated at Pending, Neu Pendington, a new joint venture development project of modern apartments, shophouses, hotels, and offices, is undertaken by Uda and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).
It will be linked to other notable locations and destinations in Kuching through Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) due to its strategic position linking downtown Kuching to Isthmus and Petra Jaya to the Kuching Airport.
Abang Johari thus believed that the project would complement the general development of Kuching as a city which had led him to announce the extension of the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) to an increased capacity of 10,000 at one time.
Abang Johari said this would provide conveniences for businesses while complementing other developmental projects in Kuching.
Apart from Kuching, he said other towns and cities in Sarawak, such as Pusa (which means ‘cat’ in the local Malay language) and Bintulu, will also be experiencing further development and urban regeneration.
“We are also developing Bintulu. Bintulu will be a very vibrant industrial city. There, we will set up what we call Petrochemical Hub.
“I just returned (from Korea), and it seems that the Koreans like Sarawak, and they want to build two more treatment plants apart from a hydrogen plant in Sarawak,” said Abang Johari. — DayakDaily
