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BRIDGES
Connecting People and Places while Bridging the Gap of Economic Disparity
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Kuching Second Bridge
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Bridges are more than just steel structures linking two divided areas. They connect
people, promote integration, spur development and increase economic prosperity
for the communities in remote areas.
Understanding this, the government spends billions of ringgit every year to
upgrade its transportation and communications system by building roads linking
the rural areas to the more developed urban centres. In Sarawak, where most
of its 2.2 million* population is scattered throughout the State, improving
its communications and transportation system is one of the fastest ways to bring
about change and economic development to an otherwise remote area. With this
in place, mobility is made easier, thus improving accessibility, which in turn
will spur economic development. This will, in turn, translate into increased
economic activities, better employment opportunities, heightened investor’s
interests and much more. In short, it promotes overall development and benefits
all the people.
Bridges and Roads
The building of roads in Sarawak necessitates the inclusion of river crossings
either as temporary or permanent bridges. Home to 55 rivers and a coastline of
about 736 km, the construction of bridges cannot be avoided. In places where it
is too expensive to build bridges, ferry crossings will be used instead.
The upgrading and resurfacing of the First Trunk roads and the construction
of major permanent bridges along these roads undertaken under the 7MP continued
to be prioritised in the 8th Malaysia Plan (2001- 2005). A total of RM449.9
million has been allocated for infrastructure development under the roads and
bridges packages.
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Suspension Bridge at Satok, Kuching
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The early bridges
Although there are no official records to verify it, the picturesque Suspension
Bridge at Satok is perhaps the earliest permanent bridge in Sarawak. Built in
the 1920s, the bridge, which connects the Petra Jaya area to the city centre,
is no longer in use but it has become an important landmark and a tourist attraction
for Kuching.
Most of the earlier permanent bridges were built during the post independence
era after 1963. As a new independent state, the focus of the government turned
to development and security with key emphasis on infrastructure such as the
building of the road network, telecommunication facilities, buildings and offices,
financial institutions etc.
The building of both permanent and temporary bridges picked up in the 1960s
and were mostly undertaken by the Public Works Department (JKR). In fact, up
to the 1980s most of permanent and temporary bridges were designed and built
by JKR. According to Ir. Chai Tse Jin, an engineer attached to the Geotechnical
and Structural Engineering Division (Bridges), the practice of employing external
consultants only began in the mid 1980s in an effort to reduce the heavy work
load of JKR as designer, implementer and coordinator/supervisor of such major
projects.
The building of bridges in Sarawak in the early days was also made possible
with the joint cooperation between the State Government and the Australian Government,
an agreement made under the Colombo Plan 8. Most of the steel bridges across
the smaller river in the interior areas were built under this Plan. “There
were about 38 permanent bridges constructed from early 1960s to 1989 under the
Colombo Plan 8”, explained Ir. Chai Tse Jin.
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Meradong ‘Red’ Bridge
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Backbone
of development
With the completion of the first trunk road in the late 80s, the pace of development
in the state began to accelerate. The linkages between towns and cities established
by the network of the first trunk roads and later the coastal roads opened many
opportunities for those living along these roads. When the coastal roads network
is completed by 2005, the economic potentials of the coastal areas will be greatly
enhanced, notably in the large-scale agricultural and aqua-culture commercialisation
of the regions. With the road system in place, vast tracts of land can be opened
up for oil palm and sago plantation and with this, the quality of life of the
people will be greatly enriched. In short, economic activities will be increased
as it is now easier to transport goods. Investors will also be keen to set up
their businesses or factories in the smaller towns. This will create many employment
opportunities for the people.
There are about 800 permanent and temporary bridges in Sarawak. Out of this,
at least half are temporary bridges and plans are underway to replace them with
permanent ones. A total of RM500 million has been allocated to replace 384 temporary
and semi-permanent bridges throughout the State under the Sarawak Bridge Replacement
Project (SBRP) within the next few years.
The 7-year project, which began in 2000, would be implemented on a two-yearly
basis for the first four years and thereafter on a three-yearly basis for the
remaining three years. The project is expected to be completed within the last
quarter of 2007.
According to Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister, Datuk Wong
Soon Koh, providing good infrastructure such as roads and bridges are vital
in coping with the developing economy of the State, which has seen great increase
in traffic volumes. There are currently 50 bridges under construction, 67 still
on the drawing board, 18 under site investigation while 11 bridges are being
surveyed under the SBRP. The Sg Jikang Bridge in Kanowit is the first to be
completed under this programme.
Major bridge
projects
In Sarawak where a large part of its land is still underdeveloped, speeding the
process of development via major projects is a financial challenge for the government.
Building major bridge projects are expensive undertakings and the road to progress
may be slow given the financial constraints faced by the government.
There are five major bridge projects under construction in the State. These
are the Durin Bridge (Sibu), the Sg. Kayan Bridge (Lundu) along the first Trunk
Road, the Kuala Baram Bridge project, the Batang Igan Bridge in Sibu and the
2nd Kuching Bridge project. All are expected to be completed within the next
2-3 years.
The Durin Bridge across the mighty Batang Rejang in Sibu will be the longest bridge
in Sarawak when it is completed soon. The Kuala Baram Bridge, sited about 11 km
upstream of Kuala Baram and spanning 400 metres across will be the second longest
bridge once it is operational by October, 2003. Crossing the Sarawak River linking
Pending in South Kuching to Petra Jaya in North Kuching is the 2nd Kuching Bridge.
Upon completion, the time it takes to travel between the two city centres will
be much reduced.
In view of the huge investment required to build major permanent bridges, the
government with the strict supervision of its machinery, Public Works Department
(JKR) has developed several packages to help ease the burden of financing such
projects.
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Durin Bridge
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One such package is the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode of privatisation. Under
this package, the State Government appoints a concession company to undertake
the construction of the bridge project. The design, construction, operation and
maintenance are done entirely by the concession company at little cost to the
government. In return, certain arrangement will be agreed between the government
and the company to offset the cost via payment in kind. At the end of the concession
period, the bridge will be transferred back to the Government at no cost or other
considerations. The Kuala Baram Bridge developed by Woodville Deve-lopment Sdn
Bhd, a subsidiary of the Shin Yang group of companies is an example.
Bridges close many gaps. Connecting inaccessible areas, linking small towns and
villages, increasing mobility, improving the transportation network are the main
ingredients in narrowing the gap caused by economic disparity among the communities.
Building infrastructures takes time and lots of money. In a place like Sarawak
where the population is scattered over a large area, requests for projects for
all the 62 constituencies cannot be completely fulfilled. The task of determining
priorities is difficult and the people’s understanding of this is crucial
to the overall harmony and well being of the State.
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