A
fter 13 years of serving in
DBKK, Chong knows the city
like the back of his hands. He
has witnessed the city developed
from a ghost town into the vibrant
tourism hub that it is today.
Areas such as Gaya Street have
transformed into a hotspot, and the
construction of The Waterfront KK
in 2006 has made the city come life
at night.
For Chong, city planning is about
developing Kota Kinabalu into a
more livable city for the locals that
is also friendly and accessible to
tourists. He said, “Previously, we
had no residential areas in the city
and after working hours people go
home and the city is empty. But with
more hotels and new residential
developments coming up, we had
to improve and add pedestrian
walkways and make sure that the
city is lit well at night and safe for
people to walk home or back to
their hotel.”
Another main project that DBKK is
working on to make the city more
people friendly is to develop the
cycle way, which will also encourage
more people to cycle and hence
improve congestion by reducing
the number of cars on the road.
The cycle way which is under
construction in stages will be the
longest cycle way in Malaysia, from
Tanjung Aru right to One Borneo
Hypermall. The first phase is finished
the second phase is expected to be
completed by the end of this year.
The entire project is estimated to
cost about RM38 million including
the building of infrastructures
along the way such as public toilets,
parking areas, and playgrounds.
Chong is also passionate about
rehabilitating the Sembulan River.
The notoriously polluted river was
transformed in 2012 when DBKK
initiated the Sembulan Riverpark.
DBKK aimed to not only beautify
the area, but to also clean up the
river and educate the public about
the importance of preserving our
natural environment.
He said, “I am glad that we managed
to get funding for this project
as I can see that it has positively
impacted the public especially
those who are living and working
in the surrounding area. It’s not a
one night job, and we face a lot of
challenges in terms of maintenance
and enforcement against vandalism.
It took Singapore 30 years to fully
develop and improve the condition
of the Singapore River to what is it
today. We hope for a similar future
for the Sembulan River.”
The Sembulan Riverpark is a
three-phase project costing RM45
million. The first phase involved the
construction of the boardwalk and
the installation of facilities such as
a police kiosk, public benches and
lavatories, plus landscaping. The
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