IPOH: A total of RM15 million has been allocated to upgrade and develop tourism facilities under the Ipoh Heritage Tourism (IHT) project.

The first package of the project, which involved the development of Ipoh Padang and Kinta Riverwalk which cost RM4 million, was completed on March 8, 2022.

The second package worth RM11 million involved the upgrading work of Ipoh Town Hall and Old Post Office buildings which were completed on May 20, this year.

State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching said the projects aimed to upgrade tourist facilities in the heritage tourism focus area in Ipoh Old Town.

"The Ipoh Old Town has the potential to be a tourist hotspot because of its proximity to the railway facilities that connect Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar," she said.

Ng said this to reporters after witnessing the handing over of the Ipoh Town Hall Building and the Old Post Office's keys to Ipoh City Council here, today (June 24).

At the ceremony, Perak and Penang Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) regional head, Fauzan Ismail, handed over the keys to Ipoh mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin.

The implementation of the IHT project was funded and implemented by the NCIA.

It involves the conservation, rehabilitation and upgrading of the Ipoh Town Hall building as an art performance centre as well as the conservation, rehabilitation and upgrading of the Old Post Office building as a gallery of art and digital works.

Ng said the project would be a boost to the music industry in Ipoh after it was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as the Unesco Creative City of Music last year.

"After this submission, the Ipoh City Council will improve the final preparations and we expect the building to be ready to accept any bookings or programmes by the end of this year.

"This is part of efforts not only related to tourism but closely related to culture and our efforts to raise the stature of Ipoh and raise the performance of music and culture in the state," she said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/06/1067625/perak-allocates-rm15-million-upgrade-tourism-heritage-projects