KOTA KINABALU (Oct 13): The Sabah state government welcomes the plan by Taiwan’s largest real estate company, the Sinyi Realty group, to build an ultra-luxury five-star ecotourism resort in Mengalum Island here, estimated to cost over RM1 billion in total development.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said he was happy that the real estate company had chosen to invest in Sabah as tourism is very important for the state, with the sector identified as one of the three main thrusts in the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan.

“Sabah is one of the most beautiful states in Malaysia and we have so much to offer in terms of investments in the tourism sector,” he said in a statement in conjunction with a meeting with Sinyi Realty at Menara Kinabalu here on Wednesday.

He said in line with the SMJ, he assured Sinyi Realty that the state government would provide necessary assistance to facilitate the company's investments.

Earlier, Sinyi Realty chairman Chou Chun Chi expressed his gratitude to the state government and chief minister for the support for the venture, and the development in Mengalum Island is set to capture the niche high-end tourism market.

“It will provide about 2,400 job opportunities for locals and expected to bring in 97,000 tourists to Sabah annually,” he said.

Having acquired more than half of the island for RM266 million in 2019, Sinyi Realty plans to restore the barren part of the island by reforestation as well as rehabilitates the surrounding coral reefs damaged by fish bombings.

Mengalum Island used to be a cattle quarantine centre until 1997 and before the Covid-19 pandemic, the island, which is about an hour and 15 minutes boat ride from the state capital, was popular mostly among Chinese tourists.

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