Bintulu's first public housing undertaken by BDA using IBS system.

The first low- cost housing project in Bintulu using the industrialised building system (IBS) called Emy Prefab system.
The project was jointly funded by a Federal government loan and BDA internal funds for the benefit of people in Bintulu with a total household income of RM 750 per month and below.  The ceiling price of the houses (especially the double-storey units)  was capped at RM 35,000 per unit  and to be settled  over a 23 years repayment period at 4% interest by successful applicants.
Colour photo taken on 15 May,1984 shows the housing site next to the Kidurong highway.

View of RPR Kidurong (Phase 1) taken on 2 February,2015
Note: Houses with olive green roofing are Single-storey and red roofing are Double-storey houses.

View of RPR Kidurong (Rancangan Perumahan Rakyat) -  a public housing project undertaken by BDA, starting in 1983 with Phase One, consisting of 508 units with a mix of double-storey and single-storey terrace housing.
Colour photo shows construction progress of construction dated 15 May,1984.

Single -storey houses with olive green roofing
Taken : 2 February,2015

 During the first economic boom (1979 -1983) thousands of people from all over Sarawak sought employment in booming Bintulu.  One of the migrant workers requirements was housing especially those who decided to settle for good in Bintulu.  The Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) was at the fore-front of implementing change in Bintulu.  One of its early project was a low-cost housing  situated at the new satellite township of Kidurong.  The site was carefully chosen in order to enable the owners of the houses to commute easily to their places of work especially at the new Light and Heavy Kidurong Industrial estates around the Bintulu Port vicinity.   The project was also to help solve the problem of illegal squatters at Bintulu town who needed alternative housing once they were to be removed from the slum areas in the center of Bintulu town.  In late 1981 BDA's request for Federal funding was approved by the Federal Minisstry of Housing with the initial allocation of 15 million Malaysian Ringgit loan to be repaid over 25 years with a grace period of 2 years and 23 years repayment annuity, at o% interest.  The loan enabled BDA to build 508 units of low-cost houses for the low income group of people from various ethnic groups like the Chinese, Malay and Melanau, Ibans and other native groups.  The ceiling price of the most expensive units i.e. the Double-storey houses was pegged at RM 35,00 per unit.  The loan was disbursed gradually starting in 1982.  On 13 December 1983, The Chief Minister of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Taib Mahmud laid the foundation stone for the project, targeted to be completed in 1985. Since the successful implementation of this Phase One project, BDA continued to undertake more low-cost housing projects in the same locality.  This RPR Housing project finally was enlarged to four phases, done over a time span of more than three decades.  The RPR Kidurong is unique in that it is the first public housing project served with a central sewerage system in Sarawak.

Double-storey houses with red roofing, RPR Kidurong (Phase 1) - which was completed in 1985.
Note: Over time the owners undertook extensions to the original building especially those with corner lots.
The strength, durability and quality of using EMY Prefab system is shown in the picture.  Despite using the prefah or industrialised building system, the houses remain firm and has a market value today(2015) at around RM 100,000 for a double-storey unit.
Photo taken by digital camera on 2 February,2015.

Sungai Terus Recreational Park in 1984

View of the Sungai Terus Recreational Park, photo  taken on 24 November,1984
The picture shows the strategic location of the park in the new Kidurong township. The park served the recreational needs of the new township that accomodated houses belonging to the MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), Bintulu Port Authority and Petronas Housing built for ABF Sdn Bhd staff.

The Sungai Terus Park as seen today, 28 January,2015.
More additional park facilities are provided over time.  The park is now incorporated into a much larger chain of public parks in the Kidurong township called 'Millenium Park'.

Note the size of the Angsana trees when compared to its height during initial planting in 1984 as in the top picture above.

During the First Economic Boom (1979 -83) a new satellite township was created some 10 kilometers from the existing Bintulu town centre.  The township was called Kidurong New Township which was developed to cater for the staff housing of the companies involved with the first boom .  The companies were MLNG Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Port Authority, Bintulu Development Authority and ABF Sdn Bhd.  In order to meet the recreational needs of the new township, the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) which was the developer of the township constructed a recreational park called Sungai Terus Recreational Park.  Works started in 1983 and the park was fully completed in 1984.  On the 3rd of September, the board of directors of the BDA paid a site visit to the park after their board meeting.  In the early days of the park, it was fully utilised because it was the only large park to cater for the families and children of the new township as well as visitors from other parts of Bintulu.

Sungai Terus in relation to the new Kidurong township, as seen in 1988.
The Sungai Terus ( Sungai is Malay for river) is seen in the middle of the picture above.  The river starts from the hills and passes underneath the Kidurong Highway by means of a big underground culvert.  The big white patch is the pond.  The green area on both sides of the river as it flows out to the sea (towards bottom left of the picture) has been fully landscaped as a chain of public parks which is named today as the "Millenium Park".
Colour photo taken on 17 January, 1988.