Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge ( ms, Jambatan Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien,
Jawi: ), also known as Temburong Bridge ( ms, Jambatan Temburong,
Jawi: ), is a
dual-carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
bridge in
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 ...
that spans across
Brunei Bay, connecting the Bruneian mainland with its semi-exclave of
Temburong
Temburong District ( ms, Daerah Temburong; Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ) or simply Temburong () is the easternmost district in Brunei. It is an exclave — the land is separated from the rest of the country by Malaysia and Brunei Bay, and ...
.
It is the longest bridge in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, at long.
Construction
The construction of the bridge was divided into six 'packages' or contracts. The first was CC1 or the Mentiri Tunnels which involved the construction of a series of tunnels through the Mentiri Ridges which connects
Jalan Utama Mentiri, a
controlled-access
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
, with
Jalan Kota Batu. Other construction packages included CC2, CC3 and CC4 comprising Marine Viaducts, Navigation Bridges and Temburong Viaduct respectively. CC2 and CC3 were awarded to
Daelim
Daelim Industrial was established in 1939, and its E&C (Engineering & Construction) and Petrochemical Groups are the main lead of the Daelim Business Conglomerate (Chaebol).
The fields covered by Daelim Industrial as one of the top EPC Company ...
, a South Korean company, which was responsible for constructing a system of
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
s and two
cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern o ...
s that crosses the
Brunei Bay.
Meanwhile,
China State Construction Engineering
The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) () is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms of overseas sales, as of 2020.
While most of the assets of CSCEC were flo ...
was awarded the CC4 contract and was responsible for constructing the land viaduct which traverses the
mangrove swamp
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...
of Labu Forest Reserve. CC5A and CC5B are the traffic control and survelliance system, and power supply system respectively. The project is reported to cost 1.6 billion
Brunei dollar
The Brunei dollar ( sign: B$, Malay: ''ringgit Brunei'', currency code: ''BND''), has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from othe ...
s (US$1.2 billion as of March 2018).
Construction on the bridge started in 2014 and was expected to be completed and opened by the end of 2019, but it ultimately opened during March 2020. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the bridge was opened ahead of schedule on 17 March 2020, a day after Brunei barred most non-resident foreigners from entering the country, and most citizens and residents from leaving, which would have otherwise disconnected Temburong from the rest of the country.
On 14 July 2020, on the occasion of
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's 74th birthday, the bridge was named the Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge in honor of the Sultan's late father,
Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Saadul Khairi Waddien, who is widely regarded as the architect of modern Brunei.
Route
The road system is a
controlled-access
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
which begins at a grade-separated interchange with
Jalan Utama Mentiri between the
Sungai Akar roundabout and the
Salambigar intersection. The road then goes through two parallel tunnels and ends at another grade-separated interchange with Jalan Kota Batu. This section is long.
The bridge then begins, with a viaduct across the
Brunei Bay, passing across the tip of Pulau Berambang, then in between Pulau Pepatan and Pulau Baru-Baru, up to Tanjung Kulat in Temburong. Finally, another viaduct begins from Tanjung Kulat and ends at Jalan Labu, traversing through
Labu Forest Reserve Labu may refer to:
* Labu Rahman, a Bangladeshi musician, and member of band Feedback
* Mukim Labu, Brunei
* Labu, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
* Labu Komuter station, a railway station
* Labu language
* Libu
The Libu ( egy, rbw; also transcribed R ...
, and includes a bridge which crosses the
Labu River Labu may refer to:
* Labu Rahman, a Bangladeshi musician, and member of band Feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then ...
, before intersecting with Jalan Labu at a roundabout.
It connects
Mengkubau and
Sungai Besar in
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, wi ...
with
Labu Estate in
Temburong District
Temburong District ( ms, Daerah Temburong; Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ) or simply Temburong () is the easternmost district in Brunei. It is an exclave — the land is separated from the rest of the country by Malaysia and Brunei Bay, an ...
. This is the only road bridge in the country that directly links the mainland with the Temburong
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
, which are physically separated by the
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 ...
ian district of
Limbang
Limbang is a border town and the capital of Limbang District in the Limbang Division of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. This district area is 3,978.10 square kilometres, and population (year 2020 census) was 56,900. I ...
in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Brunei Bay in 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 ...
. The bridge allows commuters to travel between the two territories without having to go through
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, bypassing four immigration checkpoints along the mainland route and shortening travel times between Temburong and 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 ...
. Previously, the only direct connection between the capital and
Bangar, the district town, was via water taxi services, which took about 45 minutes.
Junction list
{{Jctbtm, col=7, keys=incomplete,unbuilt,future
References
External links
Public Works Department portal
Bridges in Brunei