View of Bintulu coastline in 1999 compared to 2015

View of Bintulu coastline as seen from Taman Tumbina's Bougainvillea garden
The tall building at left is the completed Beach Resort Condominium, the first of its kind for Bintulu.  In the far background is the second condominium built along the Bintulu coastline and almost completed in March 2015, but not yet occupied.
Date taken : 10 March,2015

View of Bintulu coastline in the background, from Taman Tumbina's Bougainvillea garden.
In the middle ground is the first condominium project under construction.
Note: The beautiful lady in the picture is my wife.
Date taken : 18 April, 1999, Colour photo.

 Bintulu is one place in Sarawak where sunset viewing is at its best.  Whether its from the mouth of the Kemena River ( the main Bintulu river) or going northwards to Tanjung Batu by following its coastline, the sunset views are spectacular for most of the year.  An elevated point at Tanjung Batu is the Taman Tumbina, a zoological- botanical park developed by BDA (Bintulu Development Authority) starting in 1989 and declared open on 2nd August, 1991.  The picture above shows the well-grown bougainvilleas at the Bougainvillea section of the botanical area of the park.  The Bougainvillea garden was a popular public viewing point to see the development along the Bintulu coastline.

A closer view of the completed condominium  called Beach Resort Condominium and the first of its kind in Bintulu.
View from Bougainvillea garden, Taman Tumbina.
Date taken : 10th April,2015

From aerial photo to satellite image - Roundabout 1 - 3

For more story about the development of Bintulu's first major roundabouts i.e. Roundabout One to Three (R1-R3) please go to my posting in another blog here

The Kidurong Highway in 1990

The Kidurong highway road in August, 1990.
The road would serve as a main link from Bintulu town centre to Kidurong industrial zone, home to the major industrial projects which help propelled Bintulu into a series of economic booms starting  in 1979. Note the planting of easy or little maintenance and colourful shrubs at the central median.  The main shrubs planted for their colourful bracts are the Bouganvillea and Mussaenda species.

The Kidurong highway road , taken on 4 February, 2014.
Note the planting of Tabebuia rosea trees at the central median which was done in the mid 1990's.  The fully matured huge Angsana trees (Pterocarpus indicus) remains a unique character of Bintulu roadside landscaping which started in a big way in 1980's and continues to present day.

Any visitor who comes into Bintulu town will observe the extent of roadside landscaping done to the town which is not seen in other major towns of Sarawak, except the capital city of Sarawak i.e. Kuching.  The construction of roads infrastructure was critical for a booming town and it was envisioned early in the 1980's that the main roads would be of 4-lane dual carriageways to serve Bintulu's impending future growth and development in population, economic prospects, new townships and industrial zones. It was planned that the dual-carriageways would serve for at least a period of 20 years of continuous growth momentum in the Bintulu economic landscape.   One of the longest highway road linking Bintulu town to the new industrial zone of Kidurong was the Kidurong Highway road which is about 20 kilometers in length. In the 1980's the whole length of the road was planted with roadside trees, mainly the Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus) and Rain tree (Samanea saman) species.  Only in the mid 1990's were the central median of the highway planted with the Tabebuia rosea species.  There are many other species of roadside trees planted in Bintulu and to get some idea of the later species planted, please check them out in my blog here...>>>http://mybintuluclicks.blogspot.com/search/label/Roadside%20Trees

Roundabout 3 in 1990

Roundabout 3 - view looking towards Bintulu- Miri Road
Location : The R 3 is located 3 miles ( 5 km)  from Bintulu town centre
Date taken : 14 August,1990

 In 1990 there were four roundabouts in Bintulu.  The picture above shows the Roundabout 3, located at Km 5, Bintulu- Miri Road.  It was the biggest roundabout in Bintulu in the 1990's.  Over time all the four roundabouts were replaced with traffic lights junctions.  The building on top of the hill to the right is located within the Bintulu Police Divisional complex.  The yellow cover at the foreground are the yellow variety leaves of the Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) which was a popular ground cover for landscaping in the 1990's.  In the 1990's the landscaping and beautification of Bintulu were a cooperative effort involving three major agencies..i.e. the JKR (Public Works), SESCO and BDA. 

Traffic Lights junction replaced the roundabout
Picture taken : 28 January, 2014.

Aerial view of Roundabout 3 showing the landscaping works at the roundabout and traffic islands surrounding it.
Date taken : circa 1990
Note the striking yellow colours of the Sweet potato cover plant at the traffic islands surrounding the roundabout.
The roadside planting and roundabouts landscaping during this time were  mainly advised by Arthur George Alphonso, Bintulu's first horticultural consultant....go here to see some other projects George was involved in Bintulu ..>>http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/bintulus-first-horticultural-consultant.html

Bintulu Golf Course - 2nd Nine (Hole 10 -18)