Perak will see a new eco-tourism product in five years time.
The Kledang Saiong Wilderness Park to be developed in three phases will be located at the Kledang Saiong Forest Reserve in Meru Raya, Ipoh.
State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Hamidah Osman said preliminary works costing RM1mil had begun at the forest reserve and that the park would welcome visitors after the completion of Phase One in February next year.
“Its opening will definitely give Visit Perak Year 2012 a boost. A notable attraction at the forest reserve is the 1,058m Gunung Peninjau, where a breathtaking view awaits adventure hikers as they reach the top,” she told reporters after visiting the forest reserve.
The project, said Hamidah, would be jointly developed by the State Forestry Department and Perak Corporation Bhd.
Hamidah added that the environment at the forest reserve would remain intact.
“The development that will be carried out will be of very low impact. Visitors will be able to enjoy the park in its natural surroundings,” she said.
Earlier when briefing Hamidah, department deputy director Roslina Nordin said the park would be different from other recreational parks in the state.
“We will have controlled activities to attract visitors,” she said, adding that the forest reserve would remain a green lung for Meru Raya.
“We estimate that a tree here can generate the coolness of 12 air-conditioners,” Roslina said.
In his speech, department director Datuk Nik Mohd Shah Nik Mustafa said signboards had been put up at the entrance of the Menora Tunnel along the North-South Expressway to promote the park.
Entrance fee is RM2 for adults and RM1 for children.
-Thestar.
