RM1b Sibu Jaya township to be ready by 2023

SIBU (Feb 8): The Sarawak Housing Development Commission, in collaboration with Amcorp Group, will invest about RM1 billion for the total development of the new Sibu Jaya township.

"The development will be carried out under a revised masterplan and will be the biggest and most uniquely planned housing area in the state," said State Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg.

About 106ha out of 567ha earmarked for development under the masterplan has already been developed with a gross development value of RM470 million.

"The current development includes 4,986 houses, 174 commercial and 96 industrial units serving a population of 25,000 people," Abang Johari told reporters after launching a housing project here on Tuesday.

He said by 2023, the township's population is expected to reach 60,000 and another 5,600 medium to high-end houses will be constructed to meet the rising demand for residential properties.

"An additional 476 commercial and 83 industrial units will also be built," he said, adding that a RM17 million boulevard will also be constructed, eventually linking the new township to Lanang Road, the gateway to the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) and the rest of the state.

Abang Johari also said a 9.3ha botanical garden, planted with indigenous timber and fruit trees like the "Dabai" or Sarawak black olive and durian, would also be developed.

He said all these developments will place the new Sibu Jaya township on the tourist map.

Meanwhile, plans are being made by the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems to pioneer cloud computing which is basically a high speed wireless Internet linkage.

"This will be very useful for education and modern online commercial practices and the Sibu Jaya township, which is quite near to Score, will benefit tremendously as a local university planned to set up a branch campus here," he said. — Bernama