Kota Kinabalu: The Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Garden project will be in line with the meaning of Tun Fuad Stephens Park, which is a gazetted Fish Lake and Botanical Garden (26-1974).
In a statement Thursday, Mayor Datuk Noorliza Awang Alip (pic) said the project is a RM20 million Federal Government initiative to upgrade and develop a 44.13-acre area that is centred in the vicinity of the existing lake and jogging track.
The project’s project manager and enforcement officer are both from the National Landscape Department.
“The construction will be finished in about two years. Therefore, leisure activities (jogging tracks) will be halted from Dec 10, 2022 to Sept 18, 2024 due to public safety concerns, the smooth implementation of the project and to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) regulations,” she said.
The public are still welcome to visit and patronise the Dewan Putra and Kampung Nelayan Restaurants, Lake View Restaurant and temporary hawker stalls.
Governmental entities, non-governmental organisations and the neighbourhood’s residents have all participated in a number of engagement sessions, including design workshops in 2019 and 2021, a meeting with vendors in October 2022, and stakeholder interviews (scope of the report PMM).
The primary use of this park as a recreational area and lake will be preserved and even enhanced with additional facilities, which will also showcase the distinctiveness, culture and uniqueness of Sabah’s plant life.
When it is completed, this development and improvement is anticipated to become one of Kota Kinabalu’s newest attractions, and it will be reopened to the public so that they can engage in recreational activities without having to pay to enter the park.
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