Waterfront contractor to resume work

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KOTA KINABALU: The contractor of the Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront Development project near Anjung Senja will resume work on the city’s prime waterfront area soon after being ordered to stop work pending investigation into alleged illegal land reclamation.Kota Kinabalu City Hall (KKCH) deputy director-general Joannes Solidau said the contractor was reprimanded and was asked to follow strictly the regulation, particularly with regard to environmental regulation.

“The contractor will restart work in, probably, two days’ time. He will not be allowed to do the reclamation and if he does, he will be penalised,” he told reporters after announcing special events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kota Kinabalu City here yesterday.

The Environmental Protection Department recently issued the stop-work order to the contractor after photos emerged of the construction site on social networking website ‘Facebook’, taken between last month and this month.

The pictures showed what look like extended land from the original coastline, taken from higher ground.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, had said the developer would not be allowed to resume work until the matter was resolved.

The RM500 million project, jointly carried out with City Hall, was touted to be world-class on par with the best boardwalks and lifestyle centres globally.

Meanwhile, Joannes said KKCH had lined up 18 events in conjunction with the celebration of Kota Kinabalu City’s anniversary.

“Among them are city parade, city run and exhibition of the story of Kota Kinabalu — past, present and the future, and fireworks,” he said. — Bernama