Thursday April 22, 2010
By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my
MIRI will soon have a five-star hotel in the heart of the city, boosting its image as the commercial and tourism gateway of northern Sarawak. Construction of the RM400mil Four Points by Sheraton Miri will start before the end of this year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, said Sarawak tycoon Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing, who is the project developer.
The 400-room hotel, to be equipped with a huge convention hall, will be located next to the slope of Canada Hill, a stone's throw away from the old city centre.
Construction of the hotel, the biggest in northern Sarawak, was supposed to take place last June, but was delayed due to technical reasons.
Ting assured the people of Miri that the hotel would be a reality soon and boost the image of the city and state.
Speaking to newsmen after briefing Miri mayor Lawrence Lai about the project, Ting said he had spoken with friends and business counterparts abroad, including in Singapore, about tourism developments in Miri and northern Sarawak.
“We can do a lot more to promote Miri and northern Sarawak. We need to provide more tourism facilities and attractions in the city centre to woo more people to stay.
“I hope to bring in more Singaporeans,'' he added.
Ting, who has developed hotels and resorts in Langkawi and Sabah, expressed optimism that a high-class hotel and convention centre would boost tourism in Miri and the northern region.
He hoped the city would get more direct international flights from neighbouring countries such as Singapore.
Ting called on Air Asia to reactivate its daily Miri-Singapore-Miri flight as soon as possible, adding that tourism development would not pick unless there was a direct flow of international tourists from overseas destinations.
Air Asia cancelled its daily Miri-Singapore-Miri direct flight last month citing low passenger load.
In an immediate response, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan, who is also Tourism and Heritage Minister, appealed to Air Asia to reinstate the route, saying the flight had an average 70% load daily.
Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/22/sarawak/6103544&sec=sarawak
