KUCHING: The proposed Bau Gold Mine Museum has yet to take off as the project is still awaiting approval from the Sarawak State Building Design Committee (SBDC), a mandatory requirement before construction can begin.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Henry Harry Jinep said the museum, envisioned as a flagship heritage attraction highlighting Bau’s long history of gold mining, remains at the design stage pending endorsement by the committee.
“The project is still at the design stage and must first receive approval from the State Building Design Committee. Only after that approval is obtained can we proceed to the next phase, including tender and construction,” he said.
Henry, who is also Deputy Minister of Transport (Riverine and Marine), said the museum is intended to be the centrepiece of a broader plan to enhance Bau’s tourism potential, particularly around the Tasik Biru area.
“The Bau Gold Mine Museum is not just about preserving history. It is meant to become a tourism anchor that can generate income, create jobs and attract more visitors to Bau,” he added.
According to him, the state government is committed to ensuring that the project meets all technical, safety and planning requirements before any physical work begins, noting that the design approval process is necessary to ensure compliance with state standards.
While no definitive timeline has been set for construction, Henry said efforts are ongoing to finalise the required designs and documentation for the project to be approved as soon as possible.
Once approved, the museum is expected to complement other tourism initiatives in Bau and strengthen Sarawak’s push to promote heritage-based tourism in the southern region of the state.
Henry said the proposed site for the Museum building will be “very near to Le Papa”, towards the end of the small pond down Tasik Biru.
He said the museum will display exhibits about mining, adding that the study had been done by the consultant, so the story line to be narrated would be based on what the consultant had done.
Apart from the museum, Henry said there are plans to develop the Bau Tourism and Culture Park (BTCP), a creation that had come together when they initiated the Bau Goldmine Museum and Park.
He noted that the museum itself is more towards educative, interactive and also academic where people may learn on about the process of mining, the historical fact, see the archive or other things while the park itself is created to allow the people to come and visit and walk around the area and see for themselves the previous structures or relics of the mining activities.
