It will have green zones with a
1km jogging track, parks, lakes
and barbeque area, surrounded
by tow forest reserves, one sports
centre and one community centre,
business centres, shops, offices,
with land allocated for 10 secondary
and primary schools, one proposed
college, a central market and
hypermarket.
Seemingly Tawau is not that much
adversely affected by any property
market slowdown although the rest
of Sabah might have an issue with
Bank Negara’s responsible lending
policy guidelines.
Tawau is an example of what small
holding plantation agriculture can
do for the income of some of the
people helping them to afford to buy
good property and for investments.
The issue is not just building lowcost or affordable housing but how
to government can assist in raising
the income of the population by
providing better opportunities in
education, employment opening
and production resources like land
for cash crops.
Tawau as a Tourism Hub
Based on the variety of eco- and
nature-based attractions in Tawau,
Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk
Pang Yuk Ming is confident that
Tawau can be a tourism hub that is
education-based.
Pang said, “Tawau is a very strategic
location as tourists go through
this place to get to Semporna and
Maliau Basin; but first we need to
further enhance and increase the
tourism products in Tawau before
we expect visitors to stay here
longer.”
Currently, very little promotion
is being held to boost tourism
products such as the Tawau
Hills Park, Bukit Gemok and Ulu
Kalumpang Forest Reserve. And
Pang believes that the variety of
flora and fauna found in Tawau area
can be further developed as tourist
attractions and could specifically
cater to family-oriented holidays.
Besides promotion, Tawau also has
to improve in terms of infrastructure
especially the lack of hotel rooms.
The Tawau and Semporna
authorities and local businesses
should also work together to make
sure that both districts benefit
from the incoming tourists that are
currently transferring directly to
Semporna from the airport. There
is also a need for a cultural centre
to be developed in Tawau to create
more tourism interest.
A Greener Future
The phase one of Tawau Green
Energy Geothermal Power Plant
involving generating capacity of
36MW is expected to be completed
in 2015. The power plant at Apas
Kiri, which is the first renewable
and sustainable project of its kind
in Malaysia, will supply 30MW to the
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB)
grid.
Sustainable Energy Development
Authority of Malaysia (SEDA
Malaysia) chairman Tan Sri Dr
Fong Chan Onn, said the plant will
be Malaysia’s first grid-connected
geothermal power plant. He believes
that the renewable power plant is a
unique prospect in the district and it
is also acceptable to everyone in the
community.
The project undertaken by Tawau
Green Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE) will
reduce the utilization of fossil
fuel for power generation in the
state grid in line with Malaysia’s
sustainable development policy and
global greenhouse gas emission
reduction.
The project is estimated to cost
RM419 million and it has also
qualified to receive a grant of
RM35million from the Private-Public
Partnership Unit of the Prime
Minister’s Department for the access
road and water treatment plant.
With other mega-projects in the
works and large-scale investments
continuing to pour in, there will
be increased opportunities for
job creation and infrastructural
development, thus paving the way
for a more inclusive growth.
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