Up Mt Santubong in a gondola

By Violet Tay

ON top of the 810-metre high Mount Santubong, one could have a bird’s-eye view of the forested coastline, diverse flora growing wildly, pristine waters of the South China Sea, beautiful over-hanging rock cliffs and dramatic views of deep chasms with its staggered rock formations.

One could also catch glimpses of Kuching city, the Bako National Park, the legendary Mount Sejinjang and the popular seafood village, Buntal.

Such scenic beauty of the alluring Santubong Peninsula could only be seen if one were to scale the mountain … which normally takes about a three-hour hike.

However, about two years from now, in September 2009, the breathtaking mountain-top view of the Santubong Peninsula can be viewed in the comfort of a cable car, to be exact, a gondola cable car, under a project initiated and financed by Santubong Cable Car Sdn Bhd.

But why gondola cable cars? Because only gondolas allow for long spans of over 900 metres as they zip up and down along the cables, thus, making them more feasible. Moreover, they also meet the stringent environmental conditions of the mountain.

The base station will be located on a 23-acre site at the foot of the mountain close to the Sarawak Cultural Village or the living museum of Sarawak.

The top station, meanwhile, will be located about 800 metres up the northern peak, promising a magnificent view of the Santubong Peninsula, Bako and Kuching.

The first of its kind in Borneo, the cable-car project is set to make Sarawak more visible on the world tourism radar. It is jointly undertaken by a team of consultants, headed by Santubong Cable Car Sdn Bhd executive chairman Abang Nawawi Abang Drahman and Doppelmayr Seilbahnen, an Austrian provider of ropeway technology which was also behind the Langkawi Cable Car.

On May 9, a concession agreement was signed between Santubong Cable Car and the State government through the Tourism and Urban Development Ministry.

Based on the agreement, Santubong Cable Car will fully finance the design, construction, completion, commission, operation and management of the cable-car system, and be allowed to collect and retain all revenues from the operation of the cable cars, including sale of tickets, merchandise, products and beverages, rental of spaces and stalls, advertisements and other related activities.

According to Nawawi, plans have been outlined to minimise adverse environmental impact during construction.

“To do this, we plan to transport construction materials to the work sites by helicopters and a temporary cable-car system.

“On completion of the project, all wastes generated at the top station will be brought down to the base station using cables,” Nawawi explained.

He disclosed there were also plans to join all the attractions in the surrounding areas to the cable car system as one coherent entity.

This, he said, would entail constructing 360-degree panorama platforms, viewing galleries at dramatic rock features, wildlife observation towers and bird-watching facilities.

Suspended bridges would also be built across a valley between the north and south peaks of Mount Santubong, he added.

The area at the cable car base station would be further enhanced with, among others, a family recreational park, a herbs garden, a botanic garden, a tea house, a wildlife sanctuary, a gallery and a theatrette.

The SundayPost - Sunday, June 10th, 2007