Sabah mulls relocation of Kota Kinabalu central market

SABAH GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING NEW LOCATIONS FOR KOTA KINABALU CENTRAL MARKET

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 14 — The Sabah government is contemplating three potential locations to relocate the Kota Kinabalu central market from the city's core. Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor has inspected two of the proposed sites, located along Likas Bay and near Alamesra, but no final decision has been made regarding the new market's suitability or its precise location.

The third proposed site is situated in the Darau area, approximately 20 kilometers from the city center. During his visits, Hajiji emphasized that the relocation aims to create a market that offers more than just a conventional public space. The envisioned new market would include various activities and facilities, such as a dry market and wet market, a cultural and tourism products center, a hawker's center, and a fish wharf.

Hajiji inspected a 40-acre piece of state land along Jalan UMS in Alamesra, as well as another proposed site on mixed-commercial land belonging to the Local Government and Housing Ministry near Kampung Likas along Tun Fuad Stephens coastal road, adjacent to Anjung Selera. The Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) will prepare a working paper on the proposal before presenting it to the Cabinet for consideration and a decision, he said, adding that the proposal is still in its early stages.

Hajiji stressed that the government's primary focus is on identifying a suitable site for constructing a large and high-quality market that goes beyond being merely an ordinary public market. The market to be built will incorporate all activities surrounding it, as observed during the site visits. He also mentioned that the fate of the existing central market site after the relocation hasn't been determined and that any proposal for its future use would come from the city mayor.

The government has not yet provided a cost estimate, as it is currently in the process of evaluating potential sites.