Kuala Belait


Kuala Belait, officially known in Malay as Pekan Kuala Belait, is a town located in the westernmost part of Brunei, in Belait District. It is the second largest settlement in the country after Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, and functions as the capital for the district. Kuala Belait is officially a municipality, as well as a village-level subdivision under the mukim or subdistrict of the same name. The postcode for Kuala Belait subdivision is KA1131.
Kuala Belait literally means "the mouth of the Belait River" in the Malay language. Its name comes from kuala meaning either confluence of two rivers or the mouth of a river, and Belait, the name of the river and district. It is also known locally as "Belait". When needed to distinguish it from the district of the same name, it is known locally as "KB town" in English or "Pekan Belait" in Malay.

Location

Kuala Belait is located close to the western border of Brunei with the State of Sarawak at 114.18ºE longitude and 4.59ºN latitude. The town center is bounded by the South China Sea to the north, the Belait River to the west and south and the suburbs of Kampong Sungai Pandan and Kampong Mumong to the east and south-east respectively.
The historic administrative capital of the Belait district, Kuala Balai is located to the south and is linked to Kuala Belait by both road and river, and the oil town of Seria is located about 10 miles east. Bandar Seri Begawan is about 120 km to the north-east. The Sarawakian city of Miri is located about 40 km the south-west.

History

Kuala Belait was a small fishing village at the turn of the 20th century. The natives were Belait Malays who were mainly fishermen. According to local customs, there was a falling out between two groups of the inhabitants and one of those groups moved to the west bank of the mouth of the Belait River to found the current day Kampong Sungai Teraban.
The old historic administrative capital of the Belait district used to be Kuala Balai, further up the Belait River. However, when oil was discovered in Padang Berawa, a new administrative center for the district was established at the mouth of the Belait River so as to be more accessible. Kuala Balai, then was too inaccessible as there were no roads linking it to the rest of the country.
The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was established near the turn of the 1930s, and this marked the transition of Kuala Belait from a village to a town. The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was the forerunner of the Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Board, or Lembaga Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria in Malay. In Brunei towns are governed by a Municipal Board while each village is governed by a village council.
The town was captured by the Japanese during the Second World War but was restored to Brunei after the war.
Under the rule of His Majesty the late Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, the town blossomed as commercial buildings such as the current shophouses along Jalan Pretty.
After independence from Britain in 1984, a number of new government buildings were constructed to house the local services of the Brunei government.
At the turn of the millennium, a number of hotels were built in the center of town which drastically changed the skyline.

Governance

Administrative division

The area of Kuala Belait comprises territorial division which can be informally grouped into three main areas: Pekan Kuala Belait or Kuala Belait Town, and Kampong Pandan and Mumong suburbs. The latter two areas are further divided into three and two kampongs or villages respectively. Pekan Kuala Belait is also officially a kampong-level administrative division. All of the villages constitute almost all of Mukim Kuala Belait, a subdistrict of Belait.
Main areaKampong
Kuala Belait TownPekan Kuala Belait
Kampong PandanKampong Pandan 'A'
Kampong PandanKampong Pandan 'B'
Kampong PandanKampong Pandan 'C'
MumongKampong Mumong 'A'
MumongKampong Mumong 'B'

Local authority and town definition

The town of Kuala Belait is administered under Jabatan Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria, a government department under Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri. The department comprises Lembaga Bandaran or the Municipal Board, which is headed by Pengerusi Lembaga Bandaran. The current chairman is Ridzuan Haji Ahmad.

Overlapping territory

The area under the authority of the Municipal Department overlaps with that under Jabatan Daerah Belait or the Belait District Office. The municipal area consists of Pekan Kuala Belait, the whole of Kampong Pandan suburb, and parts of Mumong suburb. However, all of the kampongs are also under the governance of the Belait District Office, since they constitute the proper subdivisions of the district and subdistricts, and subsequently the headmen of the kampongs, known as ketua kampong, answers to the Pegawai Daerah or District Officer.

Oil and gas

Kuala Belait is located in the vicinity of the onshore Rasau gas field. There are however, no wells in the municipality. However Brunei Shell has various facilities in town to support the oil and gas production facilities in the vicinity.
The Kuala Belait Bunkering Station is located near the mouth of the Belait River. It supplies domestic gas to the town and other bulk chemicals in support of the various activities. The Kuala Belait Wharf is the main point from which personnel to and from the offshore platforms, off the Belait districts, embark and disembark. The KB supply base is located to the south of the wharf, and is the main point for logistics for Shell. The Marine Construction Yard, commonly known as SCO, is where construction of marine structures are carried out prior to installation offshore.
The Rasau field is located to the southwest of Kuala Belait town. The main area for the field is located south of Kampong Sungai Teraban and most of the wells are located there. However, there are also some oil/gas wells to the south and east of Kuala Belait town in Kg. Sg. Duhon and Kg. Sg. Pandan respectively.

Climate

The climate of Kuala Belait is tropical. The weather is warm, humid and rainy all year.
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average High
31
31
32
33
33
33
33
33
32
32
32
32
-
Average Low
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
24
-
Average Rainfall 360200190287288226196219250284260297
3045

Transportation

Road

Most of the roads within the municipality are surfaced. However, not all the roads are level to encourage effective drainage during a downpour. The main commercial street in town is Jalan Pretty and shops and other commercial buildings can also be found in the vicinity.
Due to the geography of the town, Kuala Belait is connected by roads east towards Seria. The main highway from the Malaysian border west of Kuala Belait to Muara Town passes south of the municipality, and there exists a link road towards the Kuala Belait Highway from Kampong Mumong at Jalan Pandan Lima. The highway crosses the Belait river just south of the town via a toll bridge. It costs $3 for a normal passenger car to transit the bridge one way. A glimpse of the town, including the waterfront can be seen from the bridge. It is also possible to travel west towards Kg. Sg. Teraban by taking a ferry across the Belait River at the Kuala Belait Wharf.
The taxi stand is at the north end of Jalan Pretty to the west and faces the local HSBC building. The bus station is across the road from the taxi stand. Taxis fares start from B$3.00. Tourists are advised to negotiate the price for the trip before hiring the taxis. There are three scheduled bus services from the bus station, these are:

To take public transportation to Bandar Seri Begawan, one either has to hire a taxi, or take the bus to Seria town and from there, the connecting bus into the capital city.

Rail

There are no railways or light rail in Kuala Belait.

Ferry and river, ports

A ferry did connect Kuala Belait town to Kampong Sungai Teraban to the west. This service ceased operation in 2008.
It is possible to hire a "water taxi" at the public wharf close to the Kuala Belait market to go upriver towards Kuala Balai. There are also trips organised by the Kuala Belait Boat Club to sail out in the open sea to various nearby destinations.
The Port of Kuala Belait is one of the three ports of Brunei. The other port in Brunei is at the other end of the country at Muara. The part of the port near the mouth of the river is operated by Brunei Shell and public entry is restricted. The commercial port of Kuala Belait is located to the south of the municipality in Kg. Sungai Duhon and its environs further upriver from the mouth. Due to silting of the river mouth, the port can only take shallow draft vessels. Two breakwaters have been constructed at the mouth of the Belait River to reduce silting of the river mouth. However, regular dredging is required to keep the port in operation.

Airport

There are no airports in Kuala Belait. Commercial travellers would have to travel to either Bandar Seri Begawan or Miri to catch a commercial flight. There is a helipad at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital.

Education

Education is mainly provided and/or regulated by the Ministry of Education. This means that the students in this town undergoes the same education system as with the rest of the country. There is also no significant difference between the government and private schools.

Primary and secondary

Primary education is offered in various government and private schools. There are currently three government primary schools:
The government also has built three schools which offer secondary education:
There are four private schools in Kuala Belait. They may offer primary, secondary or both.
Secondary students opting for sixth form education study at Sayyidina Ali Secondary School. The sixth form students currently share facilities with the secondary students. However, the sixth form is expected to have its own stand-alone campus in the near future.
Alternatively, students opting for vocational education may proceed to study at one of the two post-secondary institution, namely:
Kuala Belait town itself has a number of tourist attractions. Some of these are:
Other tourist attractions in the vicinity include:
Further afield are the attractions of the historic village of Kuala Balai and the oil town of Seria.

Sleep

There are several descent hotels available in the town. One of the notable hotels is , a 72-room business hotel opened in 2002 located at Jalan Pretty in the middle of Kuala Belait town. Caters mostly to oil & gas crews, businessmen and some leisure travelers.

Sister cities