Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor with the TAED Board members before the meeting. At right is State Secretary Datuk Seri Sr Safar Untong (right).
KOTA KINABALU: The revised and scaled-down Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) will be people-centric incorporating features to provide for more public public spaces and accessibility.
Chairing his first TAED Board of Directors meeting at the Sabah State Administrative Centre here Tuesday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said the iconic Tanjung Aru beach and the Prince Philip Park will be maintained, improved and beautified for the public to access and enjoy.
“The new development will ensure sustainability and take into account green initiatives,” said Hajiji.
The Chief Minister said the State Government had also decided there will not be any cost incurred to the government and all TAED projects must not only be viable financially, economically and socially but also be fully funded by the investors sanctioned by the government.
“We must remember that besides monetary gains, equally important are the economic and social returns.
This includes the number of jobs and business opportunities that will be created by TAED and its contribution to the development of the tourism sector,” he said.
Hajiji said several companies have expressed interest in TAED and among them is a Chinese government-linked company, China Railway Construction Company International Investment Group Ltd through its local joint-venture company, Mesra Melia Sdn Bhd.
Hajiji said that upon taking over in September last year, the GRS State Government had decided that the TAED project would proceed after a revision to downsize its development scale.
Meanwhile, the TAED Board has also decided to exclude two schools namely, SK Tanjung Aru I and SK Tanjung Aru II from the development.
In the previous Master Development Plan, it was proposed that the schools be relocated to Kampung Tanjung Aru which would involved land acquisition.