Take a cruise down the river with style

A double-decker cruise boat, complete with a floating restaurant, is expected to debut in Terengganu by the end of next year.

Currently moored at a jetty in Bangkok, the state was in the midst of negotiations with the Thai owner who had offered to sell it for RM1.2mil, state Tourism, Culture, Art and Heritage committee chairman Datuk Zaabar Mohd Adib said.

“We will finalise the procurement in a few months after the boat has undergone refurbishment,” he said yesterday.

Zaabar said the double-decker cruise boat, which has a capacity of at least 120 passengers, was equipped with the required tourist facilities.

“Sungai Terengganu is a picturesque waterway and the cruise boat will certainly be a catalyst for the local tourism industry.

“Probably we will introduce an exquisite dinner package comprising mouth-watering local cuisine,” he said.

Zaabar said two more 20-seater boats with the design and motifs of Terengganu’s water ferry (bot penambang) would also be put on service by next year.

He added that the state government had also placed an order for a 50-seater cruise boat that would ply the river, ferrying tourists from Dataran Shahbandar and the Islamic Civilisation Park.
“These boats which are being fabricated at a dockyard in Pulau Duyong will also make stopovers at the two jetties,” he said.