Pekan to get its first tropical four-star resort

PEKAN: The construction of a RM80 million four-star resort here will complement the development of the royal town as an integrated hub for automobile, education and maritime industries, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

To be built by UDA Holdings Berhad, the "modern tropical" resort on the river bank of Sungai Pahang which is expected to be ready by 2013.

Najib, who is also the Pekan member of parliament, said the resort was an important component in the transformation plan for the town that had been prepared by the government.

"We have decided that Pekan will be developed as an automotive hub with an international automotive college which had opened last year," he said at the ground-breaking for the seven-storey resort yesterday.

Present were Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Najib said Pekan was also an education hub where various institutions for higher learning had been built, including Universiti Malaysia Pahang's permanent campus in Kuala Pahang.

At the same time, he said the on-going construction of the RM3 billion Tanjong Agas oil and gas and logistics industrial park near here had also spurred development in the surrounding areas..

He also said the completion of a four-lane dual-carriageway from Kuantan to Pekan had also made it easier for the people to commute between the two main towns.

Under the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) initiative, Najib said various allocations had been approved, including the upgrading of the Sultan Abu Bakar museum and Pekan riverfront landscape beautification project.

All the projects, he said, would draw more visitors to Pekan, also known for its various attractions, including the Tun Razak memorial hall, which is the rebuilt home of the late Tun Abdul Razak.

Nur Jazlan, is his speech, said that the resort, which was the first four-star facility to be built here, would have 133 rooms, five seminar rooms and a main function hall that could accommodate 450 people.

He said the hotel would also act as the main venue for meetings, conferences and exhibitions for Pekan and the surrounding areas.

"Apart from improving the tourism sector and changing its landscape, the resort will also provide job opportunities and other benefits for the people here," he said.