Changes to proposed Foh Sang car park
Published on: Saturday, September 21, 2019
By:
Edwin Liew, Ricardo Unto
Some of the art pieces on display. (Pictures above and below).
Kota Kinabalu: Changes will be made to the proposed multi-storey car park to be built in Foh Sang, here, said Luyang Assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe. The details will be made known by Chinese New Year.“We have made changes to the original idea proposed by former Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan,” said the State Youth and Sports Minister after a media tour on a street art project, Friday.
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“I will bring this into discussion in the Cabinet meeting next week.” Phoong said. “I do not want to disclose more about the car park but the government will work hard on the matter.”
The proposed project was announced in 2014. Supposed to be completed by 2016 with an allocation of RM30 million from the Federal Government, it was expected to provide about 500 parking bays to ease the traffic congestion as well address the lack of car parks in Foh Sang.
It was reported that the proposed multi-storey car park would be built on a 30,000 square feet of open space with a wet market and hawkers to be placed on the ground floor. Hawkers around Foh Sang were supposed to be relocated to the multi-storey building.
Meanwhile, more than 20 Instagram-worthy street artworks have begun to brighten up the shoplots in the area.
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Photo from CheckInSabah FB Page.
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Phoong said the street art project aimed to transform Foh Sang into a vibrant, dynamic and youthful community hub. “The street art was completed within two weeks and will be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal during the Mooncake Mid-Autumn Carnival today (Saturday),” he said.
More than RM100,000 was provided for the community project coordinated by Ideology Design Studio and Common Studio. More than 20 artists from various backgrounds were involved in the project.
“The project was also conducted in conjunction with the Foh Sang Shop Lot Decoration Competition where we asked the shopowners whether they would like to participate.
“If they agreed, then our project manager will get the artists to talk to them to come with the idea for the art work – it is a project which involved the local community as well.
“We pay the young artists involved in the project a lot as we believe that their works should be appreciated.” He noted that the project had grabbed the attention of netizens.
“As such, I am expecting more people to come here, not only to appreciate the artwork but also the food and fruits on sale during the mid-autumn carnival.
“I hope Foh Sang, in future, will be very dynamic where the young and the old can converge,” he said. Looking at the positive response from the project, he said, it would be expanded.
“For the second phase, we would like to urge the shop owners to come up with their own initiatives,” he said, and hoped the makeover would turn Foh Sang into another tourism spot in the City.
Photo from CheckInSabah FB Page.
Sabah Tourism Board (STB) Deputy General Manager Kevin Chin commended Phoon’s efforts of beautifying the shop lots.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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