USD10mil Hotel for Semporna
When planning your trip to Sipadan, plan to arrive early at Tawau airport so that you can transfer to Mabul Island on the same day. Otherwise if you arrive late in the afternoon, you will have to spend a night either in Tawau or Semporna before being transferred to Mabul Island the next day.
For some of you however, having to spend a night at Tawau or Semporna is unavoidable because of flight scheduling conflicts. Currently, there are a number of hotels you can choose from including Seafest Hotel in Semporna and Belmont Marco Polo Hotel in Tawau.
Seeing the growth potential for divers going to Sipadan, the government has decided to invest in a mid-range USD10mil hotel in Semporna to cater for this growth.
Kota Kinabalu: The Seri Malaysia Group of Hotel will build its first hotel in Sabah at Semporna with the cost of RM35 million, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said Wednesday.
He said the fund had been approved by the Federal Government with State investment arm, Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco) representing Sabah as the land owner in the joint-venture deal.
The mid-range Seri Malaysia Hotel chain was implemented by the Federal Government in the effort to boost up the tourism industry in Malaysia under the Sixth Malaysia Plan.
Together with the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Government has incorporated Rangkaian Hotel Seri Malaysia Sdn Bhd (RHSM) as an agent to manage the mid-range hotel chain project.
As the project agent, RHSM carries the responsibility to secure the Federal and State Governments equities and also managing the hotels operation professionally.
To date, there are 18 Hotel Seri Malaysia being built and operated throughout the country.
Musa said Semporna was chosen because it was found to be in need of more hotel rooms being the gateway to the diving-haven Sipadan Island.
It would mean that more tourists could spend the night in Semporna before heading to Sipadan.
The Government only allowed day-trip to Sipadan.
Source: Daily Express