Angsana trees along Kidurong Highway in 1982

View of Kidurong highway in 1982, looking towards Bintulu town.
The location is approximately near the present Indoor Stadium which is located at the left of the picture , after the steep slopes at the foreground.
The Angsana trees (Pterocarpus indicus) are planted from stumps.

View of Kidurong highway taken on 21 February, 2015.
Note the large size of the Angsana trees at left.  The central medium is planted with Tabebuia rosea/alba trees which are planted much later.

New cutting dated 15.8.1981
The Sarawak Tribune

'Angsana' trees or botanically known as Pterocarpus indicus was the main roadside tree species planted in the early 1980's when the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) started with the landscaping of Bintulu town and the new township at Kidurong.  The Kidurong highway which started from the old Bintulu town center (Mile 0) ran for about 12 kilometers to reach the new Kidurong township.  On both sides of the dual-carriageway were planted Angsana trees.  Today, those trees planted more than 30 years ago have reached full maturity and still remain strong and sturdy.  They helped improved the micro-climate along the highway, protect road users from the sun and glare.  The greatest impact is in the creation of a green garden city look.  In 1982, BDA officially appointed Mr. A.G. Alphonso and Mr. Cheang Kok Choy ( shown at the inset) as landscaping and horticultural consultants to help advise BDA on the creation of Bintulu into a 'garden city'.  Below is the content of the news cutting as indicated in the inset : -
The Sarawak Tribune, August 15, 1981.
Landscaping specialists on visit.
Kuching, Fri. -  Two beautification and landscaping specialists, Mr. George Alphonso and Mr Cheang Kok Choy of Penang arrived here yesterday for a five day visit at the invitation of the Bintulu Development Authority.  Mr. George Alphonso told the Tribune that the Bintulu Development Authorty was taking the correct step of viewing seriously the beautification and landscaping of the booming town of Bintulu.  He also suggested that the State should keep a standard nursery for various plants and trees, particularly the instant trees for planting along the sides of roads.  Mr. George Alphonso is the former Director of the Singapore Botanical Garden while his associate, Mr. Cheang Kok Choy, is a former Director of the Penang Botanical Garden.  Mr Cheang is currently involved with the Shah Alam landscape project.  While in Bintulu, the experts will conduct a feasibility study on the beautification and landscaping of Bintulu.   The visitors were feted to dinner at a local restaurant last night by Encik Sulong Matjeraie, General Manager of the Bintulu Development Authority. (see picture) - Mohd. Jaya Tan.

Bintulu Port area during the First Economic Boom (1979 - 83)

The Bintulu Port area in 1982 - a humble beginning.
Construction of the Bintulu Port was lead by a South Korean contractor named Daelim Industrial Co Ltd which secured a total of RM 170 million worth of construction packages for the first deepwater port of Sarawak. Works were in full swing in 1980 to meet the scheduled completion by end of 1982.  Total cost of building the port was RM 500 million.
Photo credits: Annual Audited Report of Bintulu Port Authority, 1982. 

View of port in 1988

One of the mammoth projects done to kick start the first economic boom in Bintulu (1979 - 1983) was the construction of the Bintulu Port by the Federal Transport Ministry of Malaysia.  Concerted efforts by all stakeholders were critical to the completion of the port built to handle the first shipment of liquified natural gas cargo (LNG) scheduled in 1983.  The Bintulu Port started operations on 1st January, 1983.  The first LNG cargo that left the port was on 29th January,1983.  The future development and sustenance of the port hinged primarily on its role as the sole provider of berthing and loading  facilities for the export of LNG.  However, to add value to its permanent presence in the Bintulu landscape it acquired vast tracts of land around the port vicinity for future storing, warehousing, transfer and direct loading of many other downstream petroleum and non-petroleum products for local and foreign destinations.  At the inset is a picture of the port area in 1988 which shows at the foreground the long conveyor gallery that transfer the granular urea products direct from the Asean Bintulu Fertiliser (ABF) plant to a shiploading facility at the end of the conveyor gallery.  The ABF plant started exporting granular urea in 1985.

The picture above shows the development of industrial land around the port vicinity in 2012.

The face of Bintulu town at first and second boom

Picture shows face of Bintulu town during the First Boom (1979 -1983)
Picture taken circa 1982.

Source : Persatuan Kesusasteraan Sarawak, Our Sarawak, Summer Times Publishing, 1983.

The face of Bintulu town representing the changes after the second economic boom (1998-2000)
Picture shows town status circa 2002, prior to entering the Third Boom (2003-2009)
Photo credit : Jacky J.H. Chan, www.panoramio.com/photo/2632859

After two economic booms, the face of Bintulu town changed dramatically as it began to exhibit the features of a modern town.  The time period to achieve the above physical make-up of the town centre  (approximately from 1980 - 2000)  thus took about 20 years in the making.  The airport runway remained a stumbling block for the town centre development.  It was only during the Fourth Boom (2010 - present) that efforts were started to re-develop the old airport land to a prime property and recreational area.