Gerik : The Perak State Parks Corporation Complex in Pulau Banding, which collapsed on Tuesday, was problematic from the start, Perak  Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali said on Friday.

He said the project was not well planned and there were problems with the design.

"I don't know about the technical aspects, but the project was not viable.

"It only had  14 rooms despite costing RM 4.5 million," he said after a visit to the site Temenggor Lake.

He said the building was planned to be a one-stop centre for tourist to the Royal Belum State Park with the project being allocated another RM 7 million for the second phase, involving the construction of another 14 rooms.

In comparison, the Tasik Banding Hotel, being built nearby at a cost of RM 11 million, will have 105 rooms, while Banding Island Resort, developed by the Emkay Group, has 120 rooms.

He said Emkay Group declined to take over the PTNP building project due to the problem in the design and soil erosion.

Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak, when informed of Tuesday's incident, was also disappointed, he said.

Tajol Rosli said damage to the project was detected in July   when the Public Works Department was instructed by the State Economic Planning Unit to carry out the second phase of the project.

The PWD appointed an engineering firm to do a study and strengthen the hill slope