Tourist boats are scheduled to start operations in Sungai Kampung Paya Lebar, Masjid Tanah, in the 1st quarter of the following year, said Kampung Paya Lebar Masjid Tanah Berhad cooperative chief executive officer (CEO) Yaaman Yusoff.

Yaaman, who is also chairman of the Kampung Paya Besar Development Village and Security Committee, said the Melaka Ecotourism Product had been restored to guarantee passenger comfort as well as upgrade of several basic facilities such as the jetty.

“The Sungai Kampung Paya Lebar tourist boats have actually been operating since 2013 through an allocation of RM1.5 million by the Rural Development Ministry.

“Restoration and upgrading work began early this year, but was disrupted due to the enforcement of the Movement Control Order on Mar 18 and now, work has restarted and is nearly complete,” he said.

He said that his cooperative was operating tourist boats to help 85 co-operative members primarily fishermen to increase their profits.

“Until now, we have eight boats to bring tourists along Sungai Paya Lebar and Sungai Kuala Linggi, a trip that spans 28 kilometres, in the morning and night, while the price for the ride depends on the type of boat and ranges between RM40 and RM45 per person.

“Around 10,000 local and foreign tourists have gone on the boat rides to visit ecotourism destinations promoted by the state government under the Kampung Paya Lebar ecotourism centre,” he said.