BY NEVILLE TIMOTHY SANDERS
KUCHING: Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunications II, Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi visited Sarawak Botany Garden on Wednesday (May 11) to launch a tree planting programme.
The tree planting programme was organised by the Kuching North City Hall in conjunction with the World Tree Planting Day on March 21 every year to celebrate the coming of spring.
“This morning, we are planting over 50 trees, consisting of four types of species, namely “belian”, “kapur”, “gaharu” and “ara” and we are planting it around this garden,” he said.
He said the Sarawak Botany Garden established back in 2010 aims to enhance the atmosphere of greenery around Kuching city and that since then, a lot of tree species have been planted.
“All of the trees are available here … today, we are taking the initiative to plant the trees that are long lasting in this garden to enhance the scenery even more,” he added.
The 206.1 acre garden is located behind Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) and Wisma Bapa Malaysia.
“Other than the tree prorgramme that we organised today, we have three other projects that are currently in the works around this area.
“It started around two years ago and is almost complete. The first project is the upgrading of the entrance road around the parking lot and the landscape at Fort Margherita in December 2020 at a cost of RM 764,000,” he said.
He said the first project was completed in January of this year while the second project involves the beautification of the river bank from Kampung Boyan until the Fort Margherita.
“This includes the route to the Sarawak river bank and also the stairway construction project. The project was also completed in January this year.
“Other than this project, we also have a third one which is the English Tea House near the river bank. It’s a recreational project, currently in the works at a cost of RM10 million,” said Abdul Rahman.
He said that the tea house project which is around 75 per cent complete started around July 2019.
“So these are the projects that are in the works by Kuching North City Hall (DBKU) in order to enhance the beauty of Kuching City,” said Abdul Rahman.
