KUCHING: The riverfront beautification project stretching from Kampung Boyan to Fort Margherita has resumed following two months or so of lockdown in the city.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the project included a cascading fountain, traditional English tea house, a walkway with railing (from Kampung Boyan to Fort Margherita and from Fort Margherita to Darul Hana Bridge),and beautification of Pengkalan Sapi.

“The total cost for all these amounts to RM24 million,” he told reporters after inspecting at the project site yesterday.

He said completion of the project would make Kuching Waterfront livelier with new tourist attractions.

When asked about the proposed Sarawak Botanical Garden, he said it would be looked into later.

“At present, we only focus on beautifying the Petra Jaya riverbank. We also planned to beautify the Kuching Waterfront by extending it till the Brooke Dockyard. The project has not been completed,” he said.

On the cascading fountain, he said the project would undergo some modification before it is handed over as a final product.

“Upon completion, this place will be opened to the public as a tourist attraction. We hope Sarawakians and tourists would feel proud of it,” he said.

Regarding the tea house which is designed to fit about 200 people at any one time, he said it would be located at the foot of the cascading fountain.

The project started in 2017 and was scheduled for completion at the end of this year. However, it had been slightly delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the imposition of the movement control order (MCO).

The project is administered by Kuching North City Commission (DBKU).

Among those who went along during the inspection were DBKU Commisisioner Datuk Junaidi Reduan and the ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee.