SANDAKAN: The Sandakan Integrated Bus Terminal building which stands idle at Mile 3, here, should not be wasted and folks should be able to utilise the facility, said Elopura Assemblyman Calvin Chong.
He said if the building cannot be used as a bus terminal, it should at least be opened for other facilities such as an Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).
Calvin suggested that it could even be rented out to entrepreneurs who want to develop the area, which would in turn be a revenue source for the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS).
He also suggested that the building could be turned into a market which could replace the Muhibbah Market (Pasar Muhibbah).
As such, Calvin called on MPS to complete all disrupted works at the building immediately so it can be opened to the people.
The building, which cost about RM34 million and funded by the Federal and State governments, was completed in 2017.
However, it remains closed to the public to this day. Instead, it is used as a parking lot for those visiting Pasar Muhibbah located next to the bus terminal building.
“When I was the people’s representative under the then (Warisan) State Government leadership, I attended a meeting with MPS, and was informed that the remaining allocation for the project was worth RM2 million.
“In my opinion, it should have been used to improve the building,” he said, adding that he had initiated repair works at the terminal during his leadership. However, it stopped when the Government changed after Warisan’s two-year term.
On January 2018, then Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman visited the terminal and announced that it would start operating shortly after the installation of a terminal operating was completed.
However, the opening had to be postponed due to various problems that arose which deemed the building unsafe. – DE
