Brunei's second airport may be built in Belait

Brunei's second airport may be built in Belait

UBAIDILLAH MASLI
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, November 23, 2008

BRUNEI may build its second international airport in the Belait district as part of the major revamp of development projects planned in the district under the National Land Use Master Plan 2006-2025 (NLUMP).

The feasibility of the second airport is currently being assessed by the Department of Civil Aviation, is currently looking into the existing Brunei International Airport and whether future international and regional air traffic will require either the expansion of the existing airport or the establishment of a new one.

This was said yesterday at a workshop on the preparation of the Belait District Development Plan 2006-2025 by a local engineering consultant, Vernon Yen, who further said that besides the airport assessment, there is possibility of introducing another highway within the interior of Belait in the next 20 years.

In his "Proposals and Strategies Report" presented during the workshop at the Work Skills Testing and Training Centre under the Ministry of Development, Yen said that the new highway would promote development in the interior of Belait, spreading the development away from the coastline where most of the district's existing development was focused.

The highway would form a section of the second national highway, which aims at enhancing the connectivity among the districts. Increasing the connectivity through the new national highway is hoped to improve the social interaction among the people of Brunei.

There was also a notion to connect the proposed highway to Miri at Marudi with the aim of attracting tourists visiting the nearby Gunung Mulu National Park in the sultanate.

In determining the NLUMP for the Belait district, four alternative spatial development strategies were considered, namely the coastal linear trend, urban consolidation, district centralisation and new national growth pole. From these four strategies, the best components of each were derived to produce the most feasible and preferred strategy for the Belait district.

The strategic growth centres option was proposed, where the strategy could strike a balance between coastal growth trends and the need for urban consolidation. It would also promote rural growth and opportunities in targeting investments and reversing the flow of rural-urban migration. One of the main aspects of the strategy was the potential of a future western growth pole with Kg Sungai Liang, proposed as another hub for urbanisation.

The strategy will also stimulate growth in the Labi Corridor, with Labi as a rural centre concentrating on agricultural productivity and food security. The development of the Labi Corridor would also improve connectivity and reduce isolation. Labi could also be developed into an eco-tourism hub due to its proximity to a number of forest reserves.

With Belait's population projected to reach 85,800 residents and nearly 16,000 housing units by the year 2025, Yen said that some of the major challenges of implementing the district plan included the adoption of relevant legislation and the coordination of all agencies involved.

The workshop, organised by the Department of Town and Country Planning (TCP) under the Ministry of Development, was attended by representatives from more than 40 relevant government departments and private agencies.

The main objective of the workshop was to receive feedback from the parties involved in the strategies and issues of land use as well as the development of Belait district.

After the presentation, the participants were split up into discussion groups where they highlighted their concerns on the district plan.

It was hoped that the workshop will foster closer cooperation among all the parties involved in the development of the Belait district.

The Brunei Times