KUDAT: The Pan Borneo Highway can help put Kudat in the limelight as a tourism hotspot according to district officer Sapdin Ibrahim.
Despite the existence of idyllic attractions throughout Kudat such as the Tip of Borneo and Kelambu Beach, he said distance from the state capital remains an issue.
“Driving from Kota Kinabalu to Kudat takes about three hours typically but the highway project can cut that down to half or even an hour, which will make it viable for more people to visit the district.”
“For this reason, we are highly anticipating the completion of the project,” he said during a briefing session for the press who are participating in the Kembara Media Negaraku.
Sapdin also took the opportunity to address some of the challenges currently faced by the district’s administration, such as reducing poverty among rural folks.
“Any boost to our eco-tourism sector is a big help in our efforts to eliminate poverty here in Kudat.
“At the moment we have already established some projects to help the poor such as the rubber planting Micro Mesej programme, which provides some locals with a livelihood.
“The completion of more roads and other such infrastructures here in Kudat will definitely facilitate our efforts,” he added.
The four-day event organised by the Information Department which started today, saw the participation of 19 media practitioners from 16 agencies nationwide.
Besides Kudat, the group will also travel to Pulau Banggi and Kota Belud in efforts to promote and publicise the implementation of government’s programmes.
The convoy also acts as a platform to tackle issues often raised by the media.