By Nur Ashikin Louis
SIBU, Nov 15: Tanjung Manis residents will no longer have to travel to Sibu, Mukah or Sarikei for business and official purposes once work on the Tanjung Manis Administration Centre here is completed.
Sarawak Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the 16-storey building worth RM83 million started construction in March 2018 and has reached completion in May this year.
The new building which will start operation next year, will serve as a one-stop centre in Tanjung Manis to host all the government offices and statutory bodies under one roof.
“It will house banking facilities, express mail services, public cafeterias, galleries and meeting rooms to provide a complete ecosystem for all the occupants of government and private agency offices.
“Meanwhile, the 12th floor will house a data centre to provide Internet infrastructure to meet the needs of the Digital Economy agenda by investors and industry in Tanjung Manis Economic Growth Area (T-Mega),” he said during the opening ceremony for the centre here today.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was present to witness the symbolic handover of a mock key to the building from Empayar Setia Sdn Bhd managing director Dato Mohamad Safri Abdillah to Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) general manager Datu Hashim Bojet, and from Hashim to the Administration Unit director Datuk Nicholas Sia in the Premier’s Department.
With a total area of 14,694.7 square meters, the administration centre can accommodate 2,078 people at one time.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the building will house a banquet hall, an auditorium and a surau with a capacity of 1,200 people, 2,000 people and 500 worshippers respectively.
Len Talif who is also an STIDC Management Board member, Kuala Rajang assemblyman and Rajang Delta Development Agency (RADDA) chairman further said that Tanjung Manis will continue to develop with a total of 158 projects shortlisted under RADDA.
“However, these projects involved expenditure of over RM1.5 billion which is more than what has been allocated to RADDA, so we will conduct a third ‘brainstorming’ to finalise the priority projects,” he added.
At the same time, he disclosed that the shallow passage of the Kuala Rajang estuary has resulted in difficulty for ships to enter the Tanjung Manis port, which led to him calling for dredging work to be done.
“The effort to excavate the Rajang River estuary is critical but maybe the budget from RADDA is not enough. Insya-Allah we will work with the federal Ministry of Transport (MoT) on this matter,” he emphasised.
Additionally, he had called for a resettlement scheme or Skim Penempatan Semula (SPS) to be implemented in Tanjung Manis to accommodate those who are currently working in the area but still do not have their own homes and are still renting.
Amongst those present were Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan who is also Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development and STIDC chairman; Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki; P206 Tanjong Manis incumbent Yusuf Abdul Wahab; Semop assemblyman Datuk Abdullah Saidol; and Jemoreng assemblyman Dato Murshid Diraja Dr Juanda Jaya. – DayakDaily
