LABUAN: Local authority the Labuan Corporation (LC) has decided to extend the offer to lease 10 of its long-abandoned assets, including those under its management, for another month owing to fewer responses from bidders.
LC acting chief executive officer Rithuan Ismail said the one-month extension (as posted in the Labuan Corp portal) would commence from March 4 until April 4, 2022.
“After taking into consideration the movement restrictions taken by the many business communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we must be lenient in our leasing offer and we decided to open up for another month.
“We are hoping for genuine developers and investors to develop these areas as we are fully aware of the trickle-down effects on Labuan’s economy,” he told Bernama yesterday.
LC’s leasing offer includes the development of long-abandoned assets including the Halal Hub and the 10-storey Hotel Labuan under the management of the local authority.
Eight other assets and those under the management of the local authority in the list for leasing are the old market site, idle lands next to Hotel Labuan and the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Pasar Sentral building, idle lands on Jalan OKK Awang Besar, lands near Saguking Jalan Patau-Patau and on Jalan Rancha-Rancha, as well as the popular tourist attraction of Pulau Papan.
LC’s initial offer to lease was from Jan 19 until March 3, 2022, but failed to receive an encouraging response from investors and developers.
Rithuan said the leasing of the 10 assets would be for a period of between 13 and 30 years, aimed to develop commercial purposes that could help revive economic activities on the island.
He also said the 8.127-hectare Pulau Papan, which is popular for sea sport activities including snorkelling, has several wooden chalets and the islet was previously managed by a tourist operator.
He said the parcels of idle lands, with three located in the Labuan town centre, are economically viable and rewarding and could be developed into a new economic cluster.
“Hotel Labuan, which is in the heart of town, has the potential to be refurbished into a new architecture and design hotel, or for other commercial development purposes,” Rithuan said.
Once the pride of Labuan, the hotel has become an eyesore after it was abandoned in 1997.
The 7.391-hectare Labuan Halal Hub, which is equipped with an administrative building, a mini-conference hall and several warehouses, has the potential to be another development site for a new industry due to its strategic location opposite the shoreline. – BERNAMA
