2013 opening for Sungei Lembing tunnel (The Star, Saturday September 29, 2012)

KUANTAN: Visitors to Sungei Lembing will be able to experience tin mining activities of yesteryears with the completion of the refurbishment of a 580m-long tunnel next month.

However, Kuantan Municipal Council president Datuk Zulkifli Yaacob said the tunnel would only be opened to the public by early next year after several trial runs.

He said all safety aspects would be scrutinised to ensure no untoward incidents or major glitches so that visitors could enjoy the site visit thoroughly.

Site visit: Zulkifli (left) and Ng (right) visiting the tunnel site to check on the work progress.

“We have yet to decide on the price of the entrance fees but locals would definitely pay a lower amount compared to foreign tourists.

”The whole visit is expected to take about one hour including a train ride with proper lightings and audio,” he said during a site visit recently.

Also present was Paya Besar MCA division chief Datuk Ng Fook Heng.

Zulkifli said the RM8mil allocation for the refurbishment was provided for by the Federal Government and work had started since last year.

He said visitors would also be able to witness 12 replica of tin mining workers in various stages of work inside the tunnel.

“Besides, they would get an opportunity to take a short walk along the path used by former mine workers.

“It is like a time tunnel in which visitors are transported back to the olden days,” he said, adding that those interested could also try their hand in panning for tin with a dulang.

Zulkifli said he was confident the site would be able to attract more visitors to Sungei Lembing during weekends, school and public holidays.

He said many people were already flocking to the former mining town to visit the rainbow waterfall, museum, hanging bridge among others, every year.

”Once completed, we would carry out aggressive promotions and publicise the site in addition to offering special prizes for the 100,000th or 500,000th visitor,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ng said the site would be able boost economic activities for the locals and promote Sungei Lembing as a must visit attraction.

”I am sure visitors to Kuantan will not miss the opportunity to visit Sungei Lembing and hope all travel agencies would help in promotional efforts,” he said.

Chance to relive live of miners (New Straits Times 02 September, 2012)

New Straits Times 02 September, 2012
By M. HAMZAH JAMALUDIN | hamzah@nst.com.my

SUBTERRANEAN EXPERIENCE: Visitors can enter Sungai Lembing underground tunnels from November
KUANTAN: VISITORS to Sungai Lembing near here will have a chance to experience the challenging life of subterranean tin miners when the RM8 million rehabilitation and upgrading work for the underground tunnels is completed in November.
Kuantan Municipal Council (MPK) president Datuk Zulkifli Yaacob said the project was part of efforts to turn the historical site into a major tourist attraction after the state government had approved a Special Area Plan for the area.
It is learnt that visitors would be able to enter the former subterranean tin mine from three entrances and explore about 500m of tunnels using a special form of transport.
Throughout their journey, visitors will enjoy a spectacular light and sound experience similar to underground museums overseas, especially those in Australia.
Zulkifli said MPK would also be applying for an allocation from the Tourism Ministry to further develop the 95ha Sungai Lembing town into a world-class living museum.
He said Sungai Lembing had been chosen as one of the finalists in the the International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom Awards) 2012. The winners will be announced at the finals which will be held at the Al Ain City in the United Arab Emirates in November.
"It's a special recognition as MPK had won the silver award at LivCom Awards 2011 in Songpa City, South Korea."
Department of Museums director-general Datuk Ibrahim Ismail said Sungai Lembing Museum would also organise more programmes to help educate the locals and visitors on the history of the tin mine, its community and the surroundings.
"We are also encouraging the locals to donate items with historical value to the museum as we have the expertise to preserve them," he said, adding that the museum had collected hundreds of items related to Sungai Lembing from the public to date.
"With a vast collection of items, we can showcase different exhibitions more often at the Sungai Lembing Museum.
"It will make the display more interesting as visitors can always see new items in their next visit."
Located 45km northwest of here, Sungai Lembing was a major producer of underground tin and has among the largest and deepest tunnels in the world.
The combined length of the tunnels was said to have stretched up to 322km, with a depth of between 610m and 700m.
The town was built in the 1880s when the Pahang Consolidated Company Limited was given a 77-year lease to mine the area. In the 1940s, about 1,400 people worked in the mine.
The pit mines were closed in 1986 due to high operational costs and low yields, but during its heyday, Sungai Lembing was the richest town in the state and was known as the El Dorado of the East.