SIBU: The RM39-million indoor stadium at University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) is now under construction.
The UCTS chairman, Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, revealed this at the Media Appreciation Night at a hotel here on Thursday.
“There will be an earth-breaking ceremony upon the completion of the stadium,” he said.
The stadium will have a seating capacity of 4,000, it was learnt.
Wong also said the state government has approved to build RM25-million IT library at the school.
He added that the Land and Survey Department had allocated 7.14 acres for the construction.
“UCTS is an iconic building with modern facilities. It is designed for platinum rating and Green Building Index to conserve energy and promote environmental friendliness.”
“We all have to play our roles in promoting UCTS at state, national and as well as International level,” the chairman said.
He said children in Sibu need not venture outside of town for further studies as we already have a university which is “as good as universities elsewhere”.
“We started from scratch when we establish UCTS. But, with vast experience and capability of the chief executive officer of UCTS professor Dato Dr Abdul Hakim Juri, we are confident that we can bring the university to greater heights.”
“Hakim was the vice chancellor of University of KL 12 years ago beginning with 68 students, he said, adding that student population at the university had grown to 20,000 to date.
On the status of UCTS, Wong said members of the opposition party would tell the public that the university was merely a college.
“The perception is wrong!” he stressed. “Any institution of higher learning that aims to offer degree programmes must start with ‘university college’ and subsequently drop the word ‘college’,” he explained.
The chairman also hoped to build a hostel to cater for international students.
Hakim, who also spoke, hoped to attract more students to the new degree programmes of mechanical engineering, electrical power, food technology, software engineering and network computing.
“We have 80 students at the beginning but now it has grown to over 450.”
Without much publicity, Hakim said UCTS received enquiries from neighbouring countries like Brunei and the Philippines.