This Content Is Only For Subscribers
By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, June 25: The Sarawak government has taken over the entire Borneo Highlands property while assigning the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) to look into its re-development.
This is according to Borneo Highlands Residents’ Club chairman Lo Khere Chiang, who with other highland residents, formed the Borneo Highlands Residents’ Club (BHRC) to complement the endeavour of the Sarawak government by bring life to the area before the re-development is kicked off.
“The property here all belongs to the government; it is State land. It used to be leased to Borneo Heights Sdn Bhd as we all know, and the Sarawak government has taken over the entire property.
“So the land and the property (the resort) belong to the government. The government has assigned LCDA to look into the re-development of this place.
“But it will take a long time. The government departments will need time to plan and get these things going. That is why BHRC is coming in, to complement the government. We are starting the little events so that we can bring life to this place.
“If we wait for the masterplan to be drawn up, to be discussed, to be approved, to be developed, it will probably take five years, 10 years before the masterplan can be realised. Imagine what will happen to this place? This place will turn into a jungle,” said Lo who is also Batu Kitang assemblyman during the Media Night event organised by BHRC and Borneo Glamping at the Borneo Highlands glamping site on Saturday (June 24).
He said the residents there refused to wait and see.
“With a small event like this (the Media Night), we bring life to Borneo Highlands and we see their potential and we are going to continue to develop them and improve them,” said Lo.
He said at the moment, he has no idea with regards to the content of the master plan. However, he believed that LCDA will rope BHRC into its drafting.
The land allocated for the Borneo Highlands project, according to Liew Nam Boon, the project’s architect under the previous developer, measures a total of 5,000 acres.
While the existing resort area takes up about 30 per cent or 1,500 acres, the remaining 70 per cent hass yet to be opened up and developed.
Due to the land size and project’s immensity, Lo said the development project here would need a lot of funding, which may come from the Sarawak government or joint ventures with private investors. — DayakDaily
