Owners told to beautify buildings as part of River of Life project

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): Owners of historical buildings along stretches of the Klang and Gombak rivers affected by the River of Life project are encouraged to cooperate with City Hall to beautify the buildings.

Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said they would not lose out because the value of the buildings will double.

"Incentives may be given to them to beautify the buildings," he told reporters during a visit to a site of the project near Masjid Jamek here on Tuesday. Also present were National Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

He said it was hoped that the condition of the buildings would be in line with the river beautification project.

"They have to be in line with what we're doing with the rivers as well as the heritage value of the buildings," he said, adding that the latter was part of the country's tourism products that must be protected.

Raja Nong Chik said the River of Life project was progressing according to schedule as per the efforts to create more comfort for city dwellers and tourists.

"City dwellers will have more conducive places for recreation and need not travel elsewhere once the project is completed," he said.

The River of Life is an Entry Point Project (EPP) identified in the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley National Key Economic Area (NKEA) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

It aims to transform the rivers into vibrant and liveable waterfronts with high economic value. The transformation is divided into three components: River Cleaning, River Masterplanning and Beautification, and River Development. — Bernama