Sembulan river park

BEAUTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION OF SUNGAI SEMBULAN

UPGRADING OF KK CITY -
BEAUTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION OF SUNGAI SEMBULAN
(PARCEL 2 & PARCEL 3)

Located at the vicinity of Central Business District (CBD) at Karamunsing and Sadong Jaya

Upgrading of approximately 1.6km stretch of Sungai Sembulan which includes existing infrastructure and landscaping

Provision of public amenity, police kiosk, CCTV and DBKK management office

Challenges
• Several pockets of land occupied by illegal squatters
• Existing on-going development may not blend into the project requirement

Enablers Required to make it happen
• Relocation of illegal squatters
• Cleaning of upstream of Sembulan River and sewerage system in order to improve the water quality index (WQI)

Key outcome / benefit of this project
• Enhancing land value of along Sembulan River
• Enhancing the commercial activity of Sadong Jaya
• New hotel being build facing Sungai Sembulan to take advantage of the landscape
• Encourage recreational activities for local community and visitors

The real estate value alongside the Sembulan River has increased by 3 fold in the last 5 years and will continue to rise by year 2020

Sembulan River Park
The first phase was fully completed.

First phase of the Sembulan river park is a footpath that runs along half of the 1.6km (one-mile) river in Sadong Jaya to Kampung Sembulan Lama.

The well-lit park with fountains and music filling the air is the first to be monitored by a police kiosk through 47 close-circuit television cameras round the clock under a safe city programme of Kota Kinabalu City Hall.

The park caters for all including the handicapped. People in wheelchairs can move around it easily and so can mothers pushing their babies in prams. It has a toilet for handicapped people and a room for mothers to change their baby’s diapers.

It is part of a massive project of the Sabah development corridor to expand Kota Kinabalu southward. Construction of a state-of-the-art Gleneagles medical centre as part of a 500m-ringgit mixed integrated development and a new phase of KK Times Square opposite the Sembulan river park is taking place.

Priority is dedicated towards cleaning and beautifying the Sembulan River and its surrounding areas.

The ongoing Sembulan River park project does not only reflect the government’s commitment to deal with environmental issues but will impact positively on the quality of living of the people, especially the residents of the city.

The notoriously polluted Sembulan River had begun to be transformed and now appeared to be much cleaner, although the water was still extremely darkish and reeking of smell of waste brought down from the upper parts of the waterway.

The funding from the Federal Government channelled towards the project has directly benefited the public, especially those living or working in the surrounding areas.

The federal-funded Sembulan river park is a three-phase project costing RM45 million. The first phase involved the construction of the walk board and the installation of several facilities such as a police kiosk, public benches and lavatories as well as landscaping was fully completed.

“I have always been interested in projects like this and I must congratulate Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) for embarking on this very important journey as part of its effort to beautify Kota Kinabalu...What is important is that the people realize that the government through City Hall has actually exemplified a good effort in beautifying the area. And more importantly they must realize that they have a part to play in protecting what has been given to them....As a visitor, I am very impressed with the project, especially as I was told there are active participation of the community in the care of the park, especially that related to security...”

Chairman of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
to reporters when met at the park August 27, 2012

The construction of the second phase estimated to cost between RM12 to RM14 million, is expected to commence next month and will take one year to complete.

This phase of the project will extend the existing park by another 700 meters to bring its total length to 1.5 kilometers.

The whole project, which will involve a parcel of area currently housing a squatter colony located on the other side of the river bank, is scheduled for full completion by the end of 2014.

Away from the busy roads of the Sadong Jaya, the completed first phase now serves as a safer route and a short cut for pedestrians and villagers commuting daily between Kampung Sembulan and Karamunsing.
The whole stretch of the park is monitored from a newly completed police kiosk via 49 surveillance cameras that feed live images of the whole 800-metre stretch and nearby roads, giving pedestrians and visitors the extra sense safety and security.

Extra efforts were being taken to further improve the water quality of the Sembulan River, including working with related agencies such as the Drainage and Irrigation Department and the Environment Department to find and implement practical solutions.

Indiscriminate discharge of untreated effluents from the thousands of households and shop houses directly into the river as a major obstacle in transforming the Sembulan River into a truly clean waterway that can serve an attraction and a centre for recreational activities for locals and tourists alike.