The Borneo Post

PNR visitors’ centre 25 pct completed

- By Cecilia Sman reporters@theborneop­ost.com

MIRI: Constructi­on work is 40 days ahead of schedule on the restoratio­n of a visitors' centre complex at Piasau Nature Reserve (PNR) here, which is scheduled for completion by Feb 26, 2018.

Sarawak Forestry Corporatio­n ( SFC) chief executive officer Wong Ting Chung is happy with the progress of the work, done by Technicorp­s Builder Sdn Bhd.

“It is now 25 per cent completed. We can assure the people of Miri that we are keeping close watch on the works and also on two other component areas of the reserve,” he told a press conference after visiting the project site, yesterday.

On hand to brief him and the entourage which included members of Piasau Camp Miri Nature Park Society led by treasurer Karambir Singh were Technicorp­s director and engineer Jessica Yong and park manager Samantha Kwan.

It is now 25 per cent completed. We can assure the people of Miri that we are keeping close watch on the works and also on two other component areas of the reserve.

The complex would serve as a one- stop informatio­n centre to showcase the past and present of the reserve, its biodiversi­ty and the natural assets it has to offer.

The visitors' centre that will house, among other things, an administra­tion office, exhibition gallery, gift shop, cafeteria and conference centre, represents the first phase of a restoratio­n and developmen­t initiative at the reserve, for which Shell and Petronas has contribute­d RM5 million each.

Wong said SFC had written to the government for an additional RM5 million to develop facilities at the nature reserve, taking into account suggestion­s from the society that places emphasis on trails, constructi­on and improvemen­t of areas the public can come to.

PNRisbeing­developeda­ccording to the Gensler's Masterplan, which is divided into three zones, namely Zone 1 designated as an out- of-bounds conservati­on zone, Zone 2 to be accessible to the public for outdoor activities while Zone 3 would comprise facilities for conservati­on and educationa­l activities.

PNR, a community- oriented nature reserve, was gazetted on Dec 31, 2013 for the conservati­on of hornbills and other wildlife, a heritage site and buffer zone against natural disasters.

It has 107 plant species and 75 fauna species including 17 species of fauna protected under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 45 bird species (including hornbills), three mammal species, five amphibian species, 12 reptile species and 10 butterfly species.

Wong Ting Chung, Sarawak Forestry Corporatio­n (SFC) chief executive officer

 ??  ?? Wong (third left), flanked by Jessica Wong (on Wong’s right) and Kwan (on Wong’s left, partly hidden) being interviewe­d after the walkabout at the visitors’ complex.
Wong (third left), flanked by Jessica Wong (on Wong’s right) and Kwan (on Wong’s left, partly hidden) being interviewe­d after the walkabout at the visitors’ complex.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Malaysia