BINTULU: The Sarawak Government plans to further develop Bintulu to include Sebauh and Tatau.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg pointed out that as Sarawak has ample land, there is room for more development.
“As there will be no pressure on the land, the property (prices) will come down. If we concentrate on an area based on the supply and demand, the prices will surely increase which is why the property in Bintulu became too expensive.
“We need to spread it out. The economics is there and now it is only the question of willpower. That is why I want to extend the development beyond Bintulu so that we can control the prices.”
He said this when he officiated at the Sg Plan Bintulu Restoration Programme held at Magherita Plaza Hotel here today.
He announced that about 300 hectares of land at Sg Plan would be developed into a residential area for the local folks to buy and also to house the workers in the area.
Abang Johari explained that when the factories were built in the area, the companies involved may have forgotten to establish a place to house their workers.
This had led to a situation where the workers became ‘setinggan’ which caused them to be unable to manage themselves, hence affecting the environment.
“With the plan to develop the place for them, we hope that the ‘setinggan’ issue could be addressed and that the local environment could be restored.
“I hope that Sg Plan will be restored to how it used to be and that the trees will absorb the impurities and clean the contaminated river while producing oxygen.
“I also hope that this cooperation will bring prosperity to the people, especially the people in Sg Plan and also Bintulu as a whole,” he said.
