'Bahtera Merdeka', A New Tourist Attraction In Melaka

MELAKA, May 13 (Bernama) - 'Bahtera Merdeka', an amphitheatre in the shape of a ship from yesteryear, is set to be a new tourist attraction in Melaka when it is open to the public by year-end. Mohd Nizar Mohd Najib, who heads Pekan Legasi Sdn Bhd, the company responsible for building the new attraction, said Bahtera Merdeka would have a 472-seat capacity and could be transformed to accommodate special functions.

"We began building Bahtera Merdeka in October, last year," he told a press conference after a signing ceremony between the company and SME Bank here Friday. The bank was represented by its managing director, Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus. Mohd Nizar said the project was 70 per cent completed and cost RM25 million. SME Bank is giving a RM18.3 million loan to finance the project.

He said Bahtera Merdeka would offer visitors a 5-D show on a water screen to relate the birth of Melaka through the year of prosperity until the beginning of Malaysia. "We will run the show five times daily and expect to lure about 10,000 visitors a month," he said, adding that ticket prices would be between RM40 and RM60 per person.

The project, part of the first phase of the Melaka Alive project located in the World Heritage Site, also comprises a facelift to the History Museum, Maritime Museum and the Warisan Museum Complex. Mohd Nizar said, the second phase of Melaka Alive project which cost more than RM41.4 million, was expected to begin in the first quarter of next year and take two years to finish, focusing on the upgrading of the site and assets of existing museums. Meanwhile, Perbadanan Muzium Melaka general manager Khamis Abas said the Melaka Alive project, aimed at giving a facelift to the World Heritage Site, would revolutionise the way people viewed history.

-Bernama.