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Temburong Bridge
A gateway to the Green Jewel
The bridge links
Temburong and Brunei-
Muara without having to
pass through Limbang
paving easy access to
land commuters.
Rizal Faisal
Photo by Bahyiah Bakir
The BND1.6 billion Temburong Bridge, the
longest bridge in Southeast Asia, began
construction works in 2014 to connect
Temburong to the other three districts in the
country.
The bridge, which opened on March 17,
2020, reduces travel time from Temburong
to the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. Before
its opening, travellers would inevitably have
to drive through Limbang, Sarawak and pass
through several immigration checkpoints
to get from Temburong to the capital.
The bridge links Temburong and Brunei-
Muara Districts without having to pass
through Limbang paving easy access to
land commuters. The bridge bypasses
four immigration checkpoints along the
previous route, which ended up frequently
congested.
The Temburong Bridge Project marked
several significant milestones in 2019, one of
which is the final concrete casting of Eastern
Channel Bridge held on June 28. This marked
the completion of the 14.5km bridge deck
superstructure spanning over the Brunei Bay
under Contract Package CC3, a joint venture
between Daelim Industrial Limited from the
Republic of Korea and local contractor Swee
Sdn Bhd.
On October 11, 2019, the Temburong
Bridge Project marked another milestone with
the installation of the first tower’s top feature,
made up of a crescent and a star. It is one
of the bridge’s Islamic features, in addition to
the three Islamic scripts.
In a statement published on November
19, 2019 regarding the Temburong Bridge
Project, theMinistry of Development informed
the public that the progress of the project
had reached 97 per cent.
Following the contract packages’
completion, joint inspections with various
government authorities were carried out to
ensure the work done was fully completed
in compliance to specifications and later to
be certified as satisfactory, before the bridge
was allowed to be fully operational.
At this point, the opening of the bridge
was still under planning and had yet to
announce it officially to the public by the
Ministry of Development.
As the COVID-19 pandemic blankets the
world, Brunei Darussalam was not spared
by it and had to put restrictions into place,
including restricting movements through its
borders. It would have meant that Temburong
is isolated from the rest of Brunei.
However, despite not having a grand
gesture for its completion, this prompted the
country to fast track its overall inspection and
open the bridge in March this year.
Brunei-registered vehicles were then
able to use the mega bridge connecting the
Brunei-Muara District and TemburongDistrict,
within a controlled time frame of between
6am to 10pm.
The announcement of the opening was
made by Minister at the Prime Minister’s
Office and Minister of Finance and Economy
II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin
Liew bin Abdullah, the chairperson of the
national committee for the Brunei-Muara and
Temburong connecting bridge project during
a press conference at the Ministry of Health
(MoH).
The minister said, “The physical work of
the bridge has been fully completed and
handed over to the Public Works Department
under the Ministry of Development by the
national committee for the bridge project.”
At this point, he said that some non-
construction installations were being carried
out as the bridge opens, as well as the
construction of an operation centre and the
Kota Batu road expansion.
A ‘Bridge Maintenance Office’ comprising
staff of the Ministry of Development and
MinistryofTransportandInfocommunications
has been put in place and is tasked to control
as well as ensure the safety and welfare of
bridge users.
The bridge opensup opportunities to
make use of the tourism gateway.
The first project involves the development
of a luxury eco-resort at Kampong Perdayan,
as well as the refurbishment, operation and
maintenance of the old District Office at
Pekan Bangar. Meanwhile, the second project
incorporates a river centre at Kampong
Batang Duri.
Borneo Bulletin, Wednesday July 15, 2020
Royal Birthday SPECIAL