KUCHING: The Sarawak government believed the state could benefit from Temburong Bridge, South East Asia’s longest bridge now undergoing construction in neighbouring Brunei.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said there are many areas in which both Sarawak and Brunei can cooperate once the bridge is completed.

Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, said among the joint activities proposed are cycling, powerboat racing and marathon which will create economic spill-over to Temburong and its neighbours Limbang and Lawas divisions in Sarawak.

“The bilateral ties between Brunei and Sarawak have long existed, and we have established a sub-committee to discuss cooperation in various areas such as tourism, agriculture and trade,” he said at the reception hosted by Brunei Darussalam consulate in conjunction with the nation’s 35th National Day at a leading hotel here on Saturday night.

Also present at the reception were Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Snowdan Lawan and Brunei’s consul-general in Kuching, Pengiran Kartini Pengiran Tahir.

Temburong Bridge is a 30-kilometre (19-mile) bridge which will connect Mengkubau and Sungai Besar in Brunei-Muara District and Labu Estate in Temburong District.

This will be the first road bridge in the country that directly links the mainland and the Temburong enclave, which are physically separated by the Sarawakian district of Limbang and the Brunei Bay in South China Sea.

The bridge will allow land commuters to travel between the two territories without passing through Malaysia, hence bypassing the four immigration checkpoints along the current route, which is frequently congested.

Construction started in 2014 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The project is reported to cost 1.6 billion Brunei dollars.

On a related matter, Awang Tengah thanked the Brunei government and Royal Brunei Airline for resuming the Bandar Seri Begawan-Kuching route.

“We hope that with this route back again, the tourism sector for both sides will continue to grow. Sarawakians are also lucky because they now have an alternative transit hub apart from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Kota Kinabalu,” he said.