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By Shikin Louis
PONTIANAK, July 6: The construction of Pontianak Waterfront along the Kapuas River was inspired by Sarawak’s Kuching Waterfront which was established since the 1990s.
Pontianak Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono said the Pontianak city government is currently surfacing the promenade area to make it an Instagrammable spot that features recreational facilities for the public.
“However, we will not remove the originality of the place such as port, jetty, wooden boats and so on. Maybe some of the existing cultural houses will be preserved as heritage product of the city, too.
“If we look at the waterfront in Kuching and other countries, those are made as reference for us to implement the project but the concept does not remove the originality of the area,” he said when receiving a courtesy call from a Federation of Sarawak Journalists Association (FSJA) delegation at his office here today.
The 2km-long Pontianak Waterfront along the south side of the river is already opened to the public while the 3km-stretch on the opposite side of the river is still under construction.
Edi disclosed this project is being implemented in stages due to land acquisition which involves case-by-case evaluation and compensation for the landowners, adding the government targets completing the project by 2025.
Also present were Azizul Zekri Abd Rahim, Consul General of Malaysia in Pontianak; Alexandri Legawa, Staff of Protocol and Consular Section from Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching; FSJA president Andy Jong Wan Joon; vice president II, Jacqueline David; and Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia (PWI) Kalimantan Barat president Gusti Yusri. — DayakDaily
