Muara Town ( ms, Pekan Muara) or simply Muara is a

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Brunei-Muara District Brunei-Muara District ( ms, Daerah Brunei dan Muara; Jawi: برونائی-موارا ضلع) or simply Brunei-Muara is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has the smallest area among the four districts, with , yet is the most populous, w ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, about from the capital

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

. The population of the town proper was 2,102 in 2016. It is home to Muara Port, the country's primary

deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Location

Muara can be found in

Mukim Serasa Mukim Serasa is a mukim in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. The population was 16,173 in 2016. The mukim encompasses Muara Town, home to Muara Port, the country's only deepwater port. Geography Mukim Serasa is the north-easternmost mukim in ...

and is located on the easternmost tip of West Brunei. It lends its name to the district which it is in, the Brunei-Muara district. To the north is the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, to the south is the Brunei Bay, and across the bay is Pulau Muara Besar. To the east, across a man-made channel, are the remains of Tanjung Pelumpong (Cape Pelumpong, now an island). The rest of the Brunei-Muara

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

is situated on the west side.

Serasa Kampong Serasa is a village in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, near the port town Muara. The population was 3,200 in 2016. It is home to Serasa Ferry Terminal, the country's primary international ferry terminal. Geography Kampong Serasa is l ...

lies to the south-west of Muara.

History

Before the 1900s, the village of Muara was inhabited by a small group of

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

.Before the Oil, it was Coal
Brunei Times 14 April 2007 Rapid development was seen in the area of Serai Pimping in 1883 to extract coal, which was used to fuel passing

steamships A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ca ...

; later, under the government of Sarawak, the area around the settlement was developed and was named Brooketon, after Charles Brooke, the

White Rajah The White Rajahs were a dynastic monarchy of the British Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak, located on the north west coast of the island of Borneo, from 1841 to 1946. The first ruler was Briton James Brooke. As a reward f ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

, in 1889. The development of the

Brooketon Colliery Brooketon Colliery, formerly known as Muara Coal Mine, was one of the underground coal mines in Brunei. Location The Brooketon Colliery is located in Serasa. It is located to the north of the roundabout where Jalan Muara meets the Muara–Tuton ...

coal mine also led to transport and infrastructure development in Muara. A wooden

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was built to transport the coal to the deep-water anchorage at Muara, and

wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

and

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

were built to allow steamships and

barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by Pusher (boat) ...

to berth. By 1911, more than 1,447 people lived in Muara and some 30 shops had opened in the town. Brooketon was also where the first postage stamp in Brunei was issued.History of Brunei Stamps
by the Brunei Postal Service Department - retrieved 19 September 2019 Although he only had economic privileges, Brooke became the de facto political ruler of the area. The coal mines employed hundreds of miners, which compelled Brooke to introduce a police force, a post office, and roads, effectively transforming Muara into an

extraterritorial In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cla ...

extension of Sarawak. It was not until 1921 that Muara was "returned" to Brunei. The mine closed in 1924 because of heavy financial losses caused by the continuously decreasing price of coal during the world

economic recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

.Brooketon Colliery
from ''The Geology and Hydrocarbon Resources of Negara Brunei Darussalam'' retrieved 16 April 2007 The

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

occupied Brunei during

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and attempted unsuccessfully to reopen the coal mine. Brooketon was the landing location of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

forces as part of the

Borneo Campaign (1945) The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, ...

, at the end of the

, which liberated Brunei from Japanese occupation. Under the rule of

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien ( Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 4 June 1950 until his abdication from the throne on 5 October 1967. He was also Brunei's fi ...

, the area was developed into a deepwater port to assist in the development of the country. Since 1973, Muara Port has undergone extensive improvements. These include extensions to the wharf, bringing its total length to 948 meters (including 250 meters dedicated container wharf and 87 metres aggregate wharf). The overall covered storage capacity is 16,950 square meters. The site also features long storage warehouses with a combined capacity of 16,630 square meters and open storage space of 5

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

. Facilities for the dedicated container wharf cover an area of 92,034 square meters, including 8,034 square metres of covered areas.8th National Development Plan
Government of Brunei Darussalam - retrieved 19 April 2007

Administration

Pekan Muara is an

unincorporated town An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

; it does not have a municipal body. Instead, the town is officially a village subdivision, whereby it is one of the villages within

. The town has the

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

is BT1128. Muara was formerly part of the separate Muara district until in 1938 when it became part of the present-day Brunei-Muara district.

Oil and gas

Part of the deepwater port of Muara is occupied by two

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

facilities. Brunei Shell Marketing maintains a large presence in Muara through its Muara Terminal. There are numerous bottled gas containers on the site and a number of tanks holding various products, including

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

Brunei Shell Petroleum Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

has a jetty along Muara Port to support their offshore operations in Brunei. The jetty measures 120 metres by 48 metres and equipped with three loading facilities and 14 storage tanks.

Tourist attractions

The main tourist attraction of Muara is Muara beach (), which stretches along the coast of the South China Sea. The beach is about a mile long and consists of clear white sand. Amenities here include a picnic area, a children's playground, changing and toilet facilities, as well as weekend food and drink stalls.

Military

The

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy ( ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, abbreviated TLDB) is the naval defence force of Brunei Darussalam. It is a small but relatively well-equipped force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions and ...

of the

Royal Brunei Armed Forces The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); ms, Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei, (ABDB), is the collective term for the military forces of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. They consist of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF), the Royal Brunei ...

is based in the Muara Naval Base, which is located in the Tanjong Pelumpong area of Muara. The Naval Base was expanded in 1997 to include facilities to support three offshore support vessels.

Transportation

Road

Jalan Muara is Muara's main road. It originates in Mukim Berakas near the

Brunei International Airport Brunei International Airport (BIA) ( Malay: ''Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Brunei''; Jawi: لاڤڠن تربڠ انتارابڠسا بروني ) is the primary and only airport in the sovereign nation of Brunei Darussalam, on the island of Bor ...

and terminates at the artificial channel at Tanjong Pelumpong. It connects Muara town to

. Jalan Serasa and Jalan Persuahan branch off from Jalan Muara and connect Muara with Serasa. Tjey enables products manufactured in the Serasa Industrial Area to be transported to Muara Port for export. The Muara-Tutong Highway starts at a roundabout on Jalan Muara between Kampong Sungai Kebun and Kampong Meragang. It connects Muara to

Jerudong Kampong Jerudong or simply Jerudong is a village in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, about from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population was 3,856 in 2016. It is one of the settlements within Mukim Sengkurong. The village is home to a few ...

and Tutong. Muara is served by the purple

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es of the Eastern Line. Route numbers 33, 37, 38 and 39 connect Muara with

and the rest of the country.

Rail

There are currently no railways or light rail facilities in Muara, as the line connecting

to what is now Muara Port is defunct.

Ports

Muara Port was opened for commercial operations in February 1973 and was commissioned by the Ports Department on 1 May 1974. The Ports Department took over the management and operations of all ports on 1 January 1986, forming the Royal Customs and Excise Department. The Muara Container Terminal was operated by the

PSA International PSA International Pte Ltd is a port operator and supply chain company, with flagship operations in Singapore and Antwerp. One of the largest port operators in the world, PSA has terminals across 26 countries, including deepsea, rail and inland f ...

until 1 April 2007, when it was turned to the Brunei Government. It features one container berth with a quay length of 250m and a max draft of 12.5m. There is an existing plan by the Brunei Economic Development Board to further develop the port by further dredging the Muara Cut, constructing additional port facilities on Pulau Muara Besar, and linking the latter to the mainland with a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. From May 2009, International Container Terminal Service Inc (ICTSI), based in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, set up a subsidiary, New Muara Container Terminal Service Sdm Bhd (NMCTS), to operate the Muara Container Terminal. August 2009, Chinese destroyer Guangzhou made a goodwill visit to Muara Port from

Manado Manado () is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distribu ...

. In early 2017, Muara Port Company Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company of Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd and Beibu Gulf Holding(Hong Kong) Co.,Ltd., took over the operation of the terminal. The port is part of the Maritime

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

that runs from the Chinese coast to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and the southern tip of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, west from India to

Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, through the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, and then via

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

to the Upper

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

hub of

Trieste, Italy Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, with its rail connections to

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

.The Geopolitical Evolution of Malaysia-Pakistan and Turkey on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Route
/ref>

Air

There are no

airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

in Muara. Commercial travellers would have to travel to either Bandar Seri Begawan or Labuan (from Serasa) to catch a commercial flight.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muara Populated places in Brunei Villages in Brunei-Muara District