Bintulu
Skyline of Bintulu
Nickname(s): Oil Town,Energy Town of Sarawak (Kota Tenaga Sarawak)-unknown
Country  Malaysia
State Sarawak
Establishment Uncertain (ceded to Rajah Brooke from Brunei Sultanate in 1861)
Government
 • Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) General Manager Tuan Hj. Mohidin Ishak[1]
Area
 • Total [[1 E+Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character ","._m²|2,515 km2]] (1,563 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 200,000 (the fourth largest urban area in Sarawak)
Time zone MST (UTC+8)
 • Summer (DST) Not observed (UTC)
Website http://www.bda.gov.my

Bintulu (pronounced /biːnˈtuːluː/ (deprecated template)) is a coastal town, and the capital of Bintulu District (7,220.4 square kilometers) in the Bintulu Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is about 650 kilometers from Kuching and about 215 kilometers from either Sibu or Miri.

Some remnants of natural rainforest still exist near Bintulu despite the impact of the booming logging industry and the gradual encroachment of plantations, principally of oil palm and pulpwood, the latter mainly comprising various species of acacia and eucalyptus.

Bintulu is a major industrial centre. Its port area in Kidurong, which is located to the east of the main town hosts the Petronas Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Complex, currently the world’s largest liquefied natural gas production facility on a single site, with an annual production of 23 million tonnes. [1]

The town is geographically situated half way between Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. Bintulu is a central gateway to tourist spots like Bakun Resort, Niah Caves (Gua Niah in Malay), Mulu National Park, Loagan Bunut National Park[2], Lambir National Park, Sibuti Wildlife Sanctuary, Rejang Pelagus, Belaga and the Bario Highlands.

File:Iban btu longhouse.jpg
An Iban longhouse near Setiam, Kuala Tatau-Bintulu road
Taman Tumbina (Tumbina Park) in Bintulu

Bintulu is accessible by air and road. The completion of the Pan Borneo Highway[3] has connected Bintulu by road to other major towns in Sarawak. Bintulu Airport is located 5.5 km south west of the town and is equipped to handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747.[2]

As a booming industrial town, Bintulu has been undergone rapid transformations lately. The economic growth of Bintulu is reflected by the sprawling construction area and the openings of several international fast food chains in the town area. New houses are currently constructed in the suburban areas to cushion the increasing population of the town. The rapid growth of the town's population, coupled with the increasing affluence of its people has catapulted the recent retail boom that the town is witnessing. New mall and supermarkets are the testaments of this.

However, the rapid urbanisation that Bintulu is facing has also led to the growth of the squatter's settlements and slums that surround the town's industrial area. The most notable is the slum area around the Sungai Plan area. The squatters' settlements are generally inhabited by the migrant workers who came from either the rural areas or the neighbouring countries (notably Indonesia). However, the local authority has made significant efforts in tackling this problem by building units of low-cost homes, the most notable being the RPR Kidurong low-cost housing development.

The role of the primary sector to the economy of Bintulu has greatly diminished and has been replaced by the secondary and tertiary sector. Bintulu is also equipped with several hotels that are able to cater to the needs of the town's burgeoning business communities. Furthermore, a more robust growth is anticipated in the future due to the Bintulu's position as the main urban focus for the ambitious multi-billion dollar Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).[4][5][6]

Contents

History[edit]

The history of Bintulu stretched back to 40,000 years ago with the discovery of artifacts found in the Great Niah Caves, some 120 km to the North of Bintulu where civilization started. There were also indications of early trade carried out with ancient China.

Bintulu was once under the rule of the Brunei Sultanate. However, in 1841, Sarawak was ceded to Sir James Brooke, an English adventurer who then became the First Rajah of Sarawak. In 1861, Bintulu, which was still part of Brunei, was also ceded to the Rajah and became part of Sarawak.

Thereafter Bintulu played a very significant role in the history of democracy in Sarawak. On September 8, 1867, it became the first meeting place of the State Legislative Assembly, the Council Negeri.

The Brooke family had ruled Sarawak for about 100 years before it was occupied by the Japanese from 1941 to 1945. When Charles Vyner Brooke, the Rajah, returned to Sarawak in 1946, he took steps to hand Sarawak over to Britain. Thus in July, 1946, Sarawak became a British Crown Colony. Colonial rule lasted until July 22, 1963 and then on September 16, 1963 Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaysia.

Following the discovery of large reserves of natural gas offshore Bintulu in 1969, a feasibility study conducted in 1975 found in nearby Tanjung Kidurong a suitable site for Sarawak's first deep-water port.[7]

Realising the industrial potential in Bintulu, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) was established in 1978 by the State Government to undertake infrastructure development as well as to coordinate and promote industrial investment in the area.

From 1979 onwards, Bintulu has witnessed unprecedented industrial development that looks set to continue beyond the year 2000. Already, Bintulu is Sarawak's leading industrial growth centre.

http://bin2lu.ning.com/

Demographic[edit]

Bintulu is the fourth largest town in Sarawak, after Kuching city, Miri city and Sibu town. Its current population stands at 209,800 [8]. The ethnic composition is primarily Iban, Chinese, Melanau, Kayan, Kenyah, Punan and Segaan who was the local native, and a large number of foreign workers mainly from Norway, Britain, Australia, Italy and Indonesia with a population of over 180,000 covering an area of about 12,500 square kilometers.

However the number of voters in Bintulu is still low. During last March 8, 2008 Malaysia General Election, Bintulu has only about 50,243 registered voters against its total population of more than 180,000.[9] Ibans make up the largest number of voters of 46 percent, followed by the Chinese voters (29 percent), the oddly classified Malay/Melanaus voters (22 percent) and others (which include Punan, Penan and Kayan) make up 3 percent of the voters.

Education[edit]

File:Smk kidurong.jpg
SMK Kidurong, Bintulu (2006)

Bintulu is home to one of Malaysia's public universities - the Universiti Putra Malaysia[10], Bintulu Campus. The campus was reopened in November 2001 based on the third objective of UPM's 2001-2010 planning strategy, which is to upgrade UPM's ability as an internationally acclaimed Centre of Study, Agricultural and Biosource Services.

UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus is situated 13 kilometers from Bintulu Town, and is surrounded by a lush environment rich in flora and fauna, and this natural abundance is fully utilized to affirm UPM's mission to further explore the fields in agriculture and biosource. This campus covers an area of 715.16 hectares and will be able to accommodate up to 5000 students by the year 2010.

For primary and secondary education, just as any other towns in Malaysia, Bintulu has 'Sekolah Kebangsaan' (National type schools), Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK (National Secondary School)), Chinese Schools and several International Schools.

One National Secondary School in Bintulu is Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bintulu, or simply known as SMK Bintulu by the locals. SMK Bintulu is the largest secondary school in Sarawak, as well as the school with the largest amount of students in Malaysia. The school is dominated by the Chinese students, followed by the indigenous students, Malay students and foreign students. The school is well known in Sarawak for its academic achievements and co-curricular activities. One of the STPM top scorer is from SMK Bintulu. SMK Bintulu's robotics club is well known for its glorious achievements in the state and national level for the past few years. The robotics club also emerged as 2nd runner-up in a particular competition in Yokohama, Japan. The school is also known locally for its choir team. The school's choir team had emerged as champion in the Bintulu district competition since its establishment in 2003.

There are other National Secondary School, i.e SMK Bandar Bintulu, SMK Kidurong, SMK Baru Bintulu, SMK Assyakirin, SMK Sebauh (Sebauh Division) & SMK Tatau (Tatau Division). SM Kai Dee (Kai Dee School)[11] is a well-known private Chinese school in Bintulu & located at Nyabau Road. Kidurong International School[12][13][14][15] is located in Kidurong.

A Technical School of the Education Department[16] is found on a 20-hectare site, about 15 kilometres from the Bintulu Town and near to the industrial projects at Tanjung Kidurong. Built at a cost of RM15 million and completed in 1982, the school has at present 527 students pursuing various courses at the school. The school has a maximum capacity of 900 students and an annual intake of 280 students. The various courses offered are as follows:

Bintulu is also home of Sarawak first and only flying academy. Gulf Golden International Flying Academy(GGIFA) is the one of only two of seven flying academy in Malaysia which have college status. It currently has more than 100 cadet pilots in the college.

Transportation[edit]

File:Bintuluair01.jpg
Bintulu airport terminal building

Air links
Bintulu is accessible by air and road. The completion of the Pan-Borneo Highway has connected Bintulu by road to other major towns in Sarawak. Bintulu Airport is located 5.5 km south west of the town and is equipped to handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747.[17]

The new, modern Bintulu Airport is much bigger than the old airport. Malaysia Airlines (including its subsidiary MASwings) and AirAsia are the only airlines that fly to Bintulu. Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia operates daily flights to various destinations in the country which include Kuching, Miri, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.

However only Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia has daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bintulu currently.

Land
Bintulu is well-connected to other major urban centres in Sarawak by the Pan-Borneo Highway. The express bus services provide comfortable and cheap means of transportation all of the major towns in Sarawak. The Medan Jaya Bus Station is the Bintulu's single centre for the intercity bus services.[18] Bintulu is also served by the comfortable intracity buses whose routes serve a significant portion of the town area. All buses are air-conditioned.

Industries[edit]

Bintulu has a number of industries. A significant portion of its industrial activities takes place in Tanjung Kidurong Industrial Area. The major ones are:

Malaysia Liquefied Natural Gas (MLNG) plants

There are 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Bintulu - MLNG, MLNG Dua and MLNG Tiga. Petronas, the national oil corporation, owns majority interests in these plants.[19][20]

Asean Bintulu Fertilizer (ABF) plant
The Asean Bintulu Fertilizer (ABF) plant is a joint venture by five Asean countries namely Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. It produces anhydrous ammonia and granular urea, and is one of the largest urea plants in Asia.[21]

Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis plant
The world's first commercial gas to liquids (GTL) plant - the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS) plant - started operations in May 1993. The SMDS technology converts natural gas into high quality synthetic oil, waxes and specialty products that are paraffinic, colourless and odourless.[22][23][24] Shell MDS (Malaysia) supplied the GTL fuel in the jet fuel mix used in one of the engines of the Airbus A380 during its test flight on alternative fuel on 1 February 2008.[25][26]

National Parks[edit]

Similajau National Park
See Similajau National Park.

Financial Services[edit]

Almost all Malaysian major banks and finance companies have their branches in Bintulu

1. Maybank
2. CIMB Bank
3. Bank Muamalat
5. EON Bank
6. Bank Islam
7. Public Bank
8. RHB Bank
9. Affin Bank
10. Bank Rakyat
11. AmBank
12. Hong Leong Bank

Foreign banks include - HSBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Hwang DBS Investment Bank.

Accommodation[edit]

The New World Suites, Bintulu
Imperial Suites Bintulu at Tanjong Batu, which is beside the beach of Bintulu

There are several hotels and budget hotels in Bintulu. The ParkCity Everly Hotel represents the highest in local luxury, with many landmarks and shopping facilities nearby. The New World Suites is located at ParkCity Commercial area and the Imperial Suites is in Tanjung Batu.

Bintulu's first luxury hotel, the ParkCity Everly was designed and constructed with a unique "step-design" facade, making it a striking local landmark that overlooks the Kemena river, that feeds directly into the South China Sea. Truly a businessman's business hotel, the ParkCity Everly Hotel is equipped with 228 outstanding rooms, tastefully decorated in simple elegance and furnished with modern-day conveniences making it a restful haven for both business and leisure travelers alike.

A 5-star hotel is currently under construction.

References[edit]

  1. ^ BDA General Manager
  2. ^ Loagan Bunut National Park
  3. ^ Pan Borneo Highway
  4. ^ Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy
  5. ^ SCORE set to make Sarawak a powerhouse of growth TheStar Online
  6. ^ RM110 billion investments for SCORE TheStar Online
  7. ^ Gas Utilisation in Sabah and Sarawak Malaysian Gas Association
  8. ^ Department of Statistic, 2007. Malaysia)
  9. ^ It's a hatrick for Tiong in Bintulu. http://www.bintulu.org accessed on 25 March. 2008
  10. ^ Universiti Putra Malaysia
  11. ^ SM Kai Dee SM Kai Dee website
  12. ^ Kidurong International School Website
  13. ^ Kidurong International School Handbook
  14. ^ Kidurong International School in Malaysia School Finder
  15. ^ Kidurong International School in The Outpost Network
  16. ^ Technical School of the Education Department
  17. ^ Bintulu Airport at Malaysia Airports
  18. ^ Medan Jaya Bus Station at blogs.bintulu.org
  19. ^ Malaysia Liquefied Natural Gas plants, one of the gigantic projects in Bintulu
  20. ^ MLNG Shell's interest in MLNG
  21. ^ Asean Bintulu Fertilizer plant
  22. ^ Shell MDS Plant, one of the gigantic projects in Bintulu
  23. ^ Shell MDS (Malaysia) - Shell in Malaysia
  24. ^ Shell MDS (Malaysia) List of products
  25. ^ Airbus A380 test flight on GTL fuel
  26. ^ A380 makes test flight on alternative fuel on REUTERS

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 3°10′N 113°02′E / 3.167°N 113.033°E / 3.167; 113.033