CJMY
The Minister of Local Government and Housing Development, Nga Kor Ming, approved an RM2 million allocation to the Langkawi Municipal Council (MP Langkawi) at today’s Tanjung Rhu Business Center opening ceremony.
Nga also visited the Padang Matsirat Public Market, Kuah Public Market, Kuah Food Court, and Tanjung Rhu Tourism Area to inspect the basic facilities, drainage systems, lighting, and other related needs in the public markets and food courts.
The allocated funds from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Development (KPKT) cover the upgrading and development projects for:
- Upgrading projects for Padang Matsirat and Kuah Public Markets to repair damages in the markets, such as replacing floor tiles, roofing, drainage systems, lighting, and other related matters.
- Upgrading projects for Kuah Food Court and Tanjung Rhu Business Center to repair damages in the food court and business centre, including repairing drainage systems and gutters, lighting systems, and other related matters.
According to Nga, upgrading public markets and food courts aims to provide comfort, improve cleanliness, and ensure the safety of traders, visitors, and local residents. Public markets are the heart of a community, a place that unites and strengthens the relationships among the people.
“All the repair and upgrading works will be done before the end of 2023. The allocation is a performance-based budget, which means it is based on implementation to ensure that KPKT’s services and focus on people’s welfare can be further improved,” he added.
KPKT also considers new projects through investment return analysis, cost-benefit analysis, credibility reliability index, and feasibility study. The results of these studies will provide clear and accurate focus and prevent waste of expenditure or white elephant project scenarios.
The total approved allocation for 2023 amounts to RM2 million, which is also a catalyst for further revitalizing the tourism industry’s recovery after COVID-19 and as preparation for more tourist arrivals to Langkawi.
Tanjung Rhu has successfully transformed into one of the country’s main tourist attractions. This transformation is the result of the collaboration between MP Langkawi and KPKT through the allocation of funds for new projects in the Tanjung Rhu area, such as the construction of the Tanjung Rhu Business Center, the construction of the Kejat Square, the construction of public toilets, and pedestrian paths with a total allocation of RM2.3 million in 2020 and 2022.
According to the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) statistics, 2.5 million tourists made Langkawi a tourist destination in 2022. An increase to 3.2 million tourist arrivals in Langkawi has been targeted for 2023.
Therefore, Langkawi needs to provide more public facilities and basic infrastructure for the comfort of the locals and visitors, thus improving the quality of MP Langkawi’s services.
Also present during the working visit were Tunku Iskandar Shah bin Tunku Muszaffar Shah, Chairman of the Langkawi Municipal Council; Datuk M Noor Azman bin Taib, Secretary-General of KPKT; Datuk Azhar, Deputy Secretary-General (Housing & Community Welfare); Dato’ Mohd Fadzli bin Mohd Kenali, CEO of LADA, and other officials.
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