Six hotels being built on Malacca riverbank

By MARTIN CARVALHO

MALACCA: The state’s vision of turning Malacca River into the Venice of the East is on track with more than RM100mil being invested in the construction of six hotels on the riverbank.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the project was the acquisition and refurbishment of the former 10-storey Plaza Inn in Jalan Munshi Abdullah next to Hang Tuah Bridge.

“We acquired the abandoned hotel for RM14mil and will spend RM15mil to renovate and refurbish it.

“It will be renamed Riverview Hotel and is expected to be operational in September,” he told reporters after visiting the hotel on Thursday.

He said that Adelphi Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, the company responsible for reviving a defunct resort on Pulau Besar, would manage the four star, 169-room hotel.

Plaza Inn was constructed in the early 1980s and ceased operations in 1992 after which it was left abandoned.

It is being revived through a joint effort by the Malacca Historic City Council, Chief Minister Incorporated and State Economic Development Corporation.

Mohd Ali said that work was underway on four more hotels along the river, namely Casa Del Rio and UDA Hotel near Kampung Morten, and two others near Hang Jebat Bridge.

He said the project to rehabilitate Malacca River as the Venice of the East and as a tourist attraction was on track.

Meanwhile, Mohd Ali said that Arab investors involved in developing the RM200mil Arab Village in Pulau Melaka were looking at developing Kampung Jawa in the heart of the old city.

He said the project would involve 3.6ha and affect 40 petty traders and craftsman in the area.

However, he gave an assurance that the traders would be relocated to temporary sites on the riverbank and given the choice to move into the bazaar when it was completed.