Market Garden at Sungai Plan

Road to Market Gardening Project area at Sungai Plan, near Tg. Kidurong.
The above picture shows the site allocated for the Market Garden project was carved from original jungle.
Picture credits: The Sarawak Tribune, 26th November, 1981.

 Two large projects that attracted people to Bintulu during the first boom (1979 - 1983 ) were the LNG plant (Liquified Natural Gas) belonging to Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd and the Bintulu Deep Water Port.  These mammoth projects were the prime generators of employment during the first boom period.  The influx of people coming to work in Bintulu as temporary workers created a sudden demand for food items such as vegetables.  In those days, enterprising businessmen even imported vegetables by air from Sabah to meet the daily needs.  Due to the soaring prices of vegetables, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Hj. Abdul Rahman Yakub decided to re-settle some existing vegetable growers from Sibu and Bintagor to become pioneers at Sungai Plan.  Out of original jungle, vegetables plots were  created for the settlers and their families. Later they were given tables at the Bintulu vegetable market as outlets to sell the vegetables directly to the consumers instead of through middlemen.  This project proved successful in the early stages and was able to drastically bring down the prices of locally grown vegetables during those crucial years.  Today, the original settlers are hardly doing any more vegetable growing and they prefer to use their land or allocated lots for warehousing, workshops, light industrial housing, permanent residential  housing development and shophouses.

The old Sungai Plan road  has been tremendously improved over the years.
Today the road is very heavily used  as an alternative route to the new industrial area at Similajau.
Date taken : 4 January 2015.