KUALA TERENGGANU: Owing to overwhelming demand, Paya Bunga Square Hotel is being upgraded from a three- to a four-star facility.
The 14-storey and 208-room hotel, managed by Terenganu State Economic Development Corporation (PMINT), was supposed to have been operational last month.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman explained that with the upgrade, the opening of the hotel will be delayed to October.
“This is to facilitate technical issues to cater for the hotel’s upgrade in status.
“The developer is now rushing to equip the hotel with the necessary facilities, in view of the enormous demand for a prestigious hotel in the Paya Bunga complex which also includes the commercialised Paya Bunga Sentral,” he said.
Razif is confident the hotel will be ready by October as 90 per cent of its interior decorations has been completed, leaving only another 50 per cent work to be completed for the central kitchen, banquet hall and function rooms.
“Stringent quality control and testing will have to be undertaken for the various facilities, including utilities, to meet the required standard before the hotel becomes operational.
“In the meantime, the hotel’s management has begun marketing the facility for sale of rooms and function rooms,” said Razif, after a brief tour of PB Square.
He added that a new feature to be included at PB Square was an open rooftop seafood court to promote Terengganu’s marine catch "ala ikan bakar" (grilled fish).
“We have to get the whole commercial complex ready, up and running to boost the state’s coffers.
“This is pertinent to make available the facilities and draw in the huge tourist revenue which the state is in dire need of, especially with the current economic downturn,” said Razif.
For the record, Coral Crown Bowl registered an average of 605 visitors daily, while the Lotus Five Star Cinemas had 2,574 patrons daily, since both facilities began operations last March.
Last October, Razif had cracked the whip on contractors to get the RM500 million Paya Bunga commercial complex ready in time for ‘Visit Beautiful Terengganu Year (VTY) 2017’.
The centrally located Paya Bunga commercial complex will boost traffic and interest as it has many commercial outlets, food and beverage establishments, government departments and financial institutions.
The 17-storey Paya Bunga Square is already up and running with retail shops and government agencies, including the RM38 million Urban Transformation Centre.
The nine-storey Paya Bunga Sentral will have supermarkets and shopping malls, including anchor tenants, hypermarket The Store and Mara Digital that will sell information, communications and technology equipment.
Paya Bunga Sentral, on a 0.32ha land, will hold 709 car park lots on six storeys, 11 cineplexes, a 36-lane bowling centre and the new Kuala Terengganu bus terminal, along with taxis and trishaws, to provide a comprehensive transportation hub.
A sky bridge connects Paya Bunga Square with Paya Bunga Sentral.