BUTTERWORTH: Ipoh, the Bougainvillea City, will have to watch out.

       Penang mainland now has a new attraction – the Bougainvillea Belt in Bandar Perda – that is filled with the vibrant paper-like flowers.

       Believed to be the first of its kind in Penang, the park, previously known as Taman Komuniti, near the Masjid Daerah in central Seberang Prai, now features thousands of bougainvillea shrubs from 30 different species.

       Seberang Prai City Council mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud said work on the 15,400 sq m park, which started on Dec 2, is now fully completed.

       “The RM913,010 project has a total of 12,900 bougainvillea plants together with 70 happiness trees (Fukugi trees) and four palm trees,” he said.

       The park was launched by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak here on Saturday.

       Rozali said the shrubs that were planted were those that had bloomed, adding colour and attraction to the landscape of the park and its surrounding areas.

       “Among the species of bougainvilleas planted here are the ‘bougainvillea glabra’, ‘bougainvillea magnifica’, ‘bougainvillea glabra red’ and ‘bougainvillea queen violet’.

       “We have plans to have at least another five such parks on the mainland, with at least three earmarked at the Vision Park in Bertam, Robina Park in Butterworth and in Batu Kawan.

       “We are looking at a mix of local and foreign species, especially for the bunga raya, bougainvillea and other flowering plants,” he added.

       Rozali said the council was looking at flowers that could bloom throughout the year rather than seasonal species.

       “The governor has also suggested tulips which are used widely at parks in Turkey and other countries,” he said, adding that it would help reseearch efforts by botanists.