GOVT MAY REVIVE HOSTEL PROJECT AT MOUNT KINABALU, SAYS MASIDI

KOTA KINABALU, 9th June, 2009: A controversial plan to put up a hostel at Mount Kinabalu that was stopped by the State Cabinet three years ago is now being reconsidered.

State Tourism, Culture & Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said that the state was considering the move to revive the project in trying to provide cheaper accommodation for people scaling the mountain.

However, he said that any development plan along the mountain trail would not jeopardise the World Heritage status of Mount Kinabalu and would be in accordance to the environmental impact assessment.

“We have not made any decision but we are just looking at it,” he told reporters after a briefing for Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen who was on a working visit to Sabah yesterday.

The controversial RM4.35 million restaurant-cum-rest-house project at the height of 2727 metres was stopped by the state government in June 2006 when the contractor was found to have carried out rock blasting works.

Masidi said that the move to re-look at the project following complaints that the current rates to scale Mount Kinabalu was too expensive for locals following the 1998 privatisation of the park facilities.

“We are legally tied up with private company for 20 years and there is no reason for us to review the contract as they have put in money to improve the services.

“To be fair to the private operators, they have improved the services. By building a new hostel, we will be able to let Sabah Parks operate the new facility and it could be cheaper,” he added.

He declined to say whether the move to ‘privatise” the facilities at Mount Kinabalu was a mistake of the previous administration only saying “lets look forward.”