KK’s upcoming landmark to have ‘wow’ factor: Sapawi
Published on: Saturday, April 22, 2017
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KOTA Kinabalu’s landmark and one of Sabah’s jewels in the crown that will put the State on the global tourism map – the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) – will open its doors in 2018, revealed Yayasan Sabah’s Director Datuk Sapawi bin Haji Ahmad.
The world-class centre with stunning glass-fronted atrium overlooks the South China Sea on the west, Mount Kinabalu on the east and the upcoming Kota Kinabalu Convention City (KKCC) on the south and is only 15 minutes away from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
“Work is in progress and expedited. Construction workers are working round-the-clock to ensure the convention centre is ready within the stipulated period,” Sapawi said.
Workers can be seen doing their daily tasks with precision while ensuring the construction of the convention centre will be a sound architectural success.
“We were informed by the construction company that it is proud to be working on such a significant project and primarily focused on delivering a milestone in modern construction without sacrificing safety and quality.”
About the Building
The SICC covers a total area of 15 acres with facilities spanning over five levels with a total built-up area exceeding 75,000m2. Equipped with over 1,000 parking bays, the SICC comprised of 6,000m2 exhibition hall, meeting rooms, plaza, 6,000m2 convention halls, kitchens, VIP Lounge and the 1,200 seating capacity Performance Art Hall.
SICC is poised to be one of the highly specialised venues for conventions, trade shows, banquets and conferences.
The conference space will be fully equipped with various high-tech facilities to ensure smooth and efficient running of Mice activities. Its state-of-the-art multi-purpose exhibition and convention facilities complete with world-class communications network and cutting-edge presentation technology will ensure effective dissemination of information.
“We will also be hosting niche events. As demand and passion for niche events continue to surge, what used to be a simple planning process now requires a more polished and purposeful approach. Each event tee up new opportunities to deliver the ‘wow’ factor, while also creating new revenue streams through sponsorship,” he said.
Increased Exponential Impacts
SICC is the first state-owned convention centre which has a strong backing from the Federal and State Government.
The Federal Government through the Public Private Partnership Unit (Ukas) under the Prime Minister’s Department has allocated a sum of RM250 million through the facilitation fund to finance the project infrastructure while the State Government allocated a 15-acre area for the project.
More importantly, SICC will help position Sabah to become a major venue for regional and international events, developing the State’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) sector and business tourism offerings, while attracting local and foreign investors and partners to an ideal location to develop tourism and real estate in the heart of Kota Kinabalu City.
The convention centre will also add a key pillar to Sabah’s tourism development and the project is undoubtedly one of the most important tourism investment projects in the State. It also promises to engender pride in every Sabahans because of its truly iconic stature and its development as one of the great landmarks of modern Sabah.
There will be substantial socioeconomic benefits. “The SICC project will create thousands of jobs for the people of the State and act as a catalyst for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) growth in Sabah’s tourism and Mice sectors,” Sapawi said.
“The project will also contribute to national capacity building, affording Sabahans the opportunity to attend many specialised events and share knowledge and expertise with visitors.”
It will serve as a new and sustainable source of revenue for the State’s economy, thereby advancing Sabah’s economic diversification objectives. The project will not only stimulate growth in the tourism sector in general, but also unlock business and investment opportunities that will drive Growth Domestic Products (GDP) growth.
With this unique environment backdrop, together with the current tourism boom in the State, the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman, has promulgated the idea of developing Mice activities in Sabah.
The Government’s ideas have triggered Yayasan Sabah Group in prioritising Mice as part of its plan both economically and socially.
This is in-line with the Halatuju of the State Government and the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) that emphasised on high-end tourism products. This is more so as Yayasan Sabah Group has been identified as one of the GLCs to play a major role in the SDC, launched in 2008.
“This is a time many in the travel, tourism, and conventions industry have waited many years for.
Sabah has been in desperate need of a high-quality, state convention centre that will bring higher-spending international visitors here and pump millions of Ringgit into the economy,” said Sapawi.
Sabah needs something special to push her business growth and a convention centre could be the key.
It is expected to leapfrog the tourism industry to a much higher yield.
This will be realised through our investment in human resource development which eventually will transform the State from a primary based economy into an information and knowledge-based economy (K-Economy).
“It is strongly felt that this project would also act as a catalyst for further infrastructure development in the State.
Looking forward a few years from now, the completion of this project would be complemented by better surrounding infrastructures and facilities and indirectly will propel our entire tourism industry up the value chain.
“Besides that, the development of integrated upscale development projects such as SICC would bring about infrastructure development.”
The Government (both State and Federal) will definitely see the need to upgrade the basic infrastructures and amenities such as transportation system, electricity and water in order to support its GLCs investment and to boost investors’ confidence.
Regional towns will also benefit as delegates, especially foreign delegates extend their stay for a pre or post conference touring mainly in regional areas. Hence, the probability of return on such investment for cities can be substantial.
The development of a variety of cultural, educational and convention facilities often results in the increase of productivity in the local level. Going the extra role in venturing into convention centre will push for other service sectors to boom, hence push for business growth.
“Thus, strengthening the State’s image as a business capital of the region.
An international convention centre plus various other tourism related infrastructures would definitely consolidate Kota Kinabalu’s position as the preferred choice and the best for business in Borneo,” Sapawi concluded.
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