Brunei names mega cross-sea bridge partly built by Chinese contractor

The mega Temburong Bridge, partly built by a Chinese company, linking Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan and its Temburong district was officially named as the "Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge" on Tuesday evening.

Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah announced the decision to name the newly opened sea-crossing bridge during a nationally televised speech on his 74th birthday celebration, which falls on Wednesday. The Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien was the father of the monarch, who is also widely recognized as the Architect of Modern Brunei.

Temburong district has been physically isolated from the rest of Brunei, which has hindered the economic growth of the district. The sea-crossing bridge is one of the key national balanced development projects promoted by the Brunei government, which is also the largest bridge construction project ever in the history of Brunei.

In his speech, the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah stated that the Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge' is the most prominent symbol of Brunei's modernization.

The 30-km bridge aims to reduce traveling time between Brunei's capital and Temburong district from two hours to about 15 minutes by bypassing Malaysia's Limbang. Construction of the bridge started in 2014 and was officially opened in March 2020. The bridge was jointly built by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), a Chinese state-owned company, and Daelim, a South Korean company.

"We are proud to be involved in the building of the bridge and we are proud to demonstrate Chinese technology in the construction of the bridge," Jin Chunshang, a manager from CSCEC which is responsible for the CC4 package of the bridge, told Xinhua on Tuesday evening.

According to the manager, started on October 1, 2015, the CC4 section constructed by CSCEC spans about 12 km in length, including a fully prefabricated viaduct, which crosses Brunei's uninhabited forests and swamps.

Wang Xiaolin, president of the Chinese Enterprise Association in Brunei and general manager of Bank of China Brunei Branch, said that the bridge is the largest and most influential transportation infrastructure project in Brunei and has become a new landmark in the country.

"After the bridge was opened, the travel time between the capital and Temburong has been shortened from two hours to about 15 minutes, which is of great significance to the social and economic development of Brunei," he told Xinhua.