| Azaraimy HH |
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam officiated the ceremony to name the Ulu Tutong dam as Empangan Jubli Emas Ulu Tutong.
The largest water supply project in Brunei Darussalam, the dam took over seven years to complete at an approximate cost of BND85.4 million.
The naming ceremony took place yesterday during His Majesty’s meet-and-greet the people programme in Tutong District, held in conjunction with the monarch’s 72nd birthday celebration.
The challenging construction of the dam, located deep in a remote area of the district near the Malaysian border, commenced on February 1, 2010, and taking 89 months, the project was completed on June 25, 2017,
Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar in an interview with the Bulletin on the sidelines of His Majesty’s meet-and-greet event, said the project took quite a long time to complete due to the very large scope of work as well as its challenging and remote location.
The scope of work included construction of a 22-km road from Kampong Belaban to the dam location, a 42-metre high embankment dam, a high-reinforced concrete draw off tower and a spillway structure.
“There was no road to the area at the beginning, so the government needed to build an access road first. The terrain and the unpredictable weather also added to the challenges,” the minister said.
Compared to other dams in the country such as the Kagu Dam in Labi, the Benutan Dam in Tutong, and the Mengkubau Dam in Mentiri, the Empangan Jubli Emas Ulu Tutong is the largest with a reservoir volume of 76 million cubic metres, he noted, adding that the reservoir will help ensure adequate water supply to meet the demand in Brunei-Muara and Tutong districts until 2035 and beyond.
The minister also indicated that the government has identified another potential water source in the Belait District.
During the official naming ceremony, His Majesty also signed the name plaque of Empangan Jubli Emas Ulu Tutong.
The Tutong dam reservoir is designed to operate as a regulating reservoir and will release water into the Tutong River when the natural flow is insufficient to meet the required demand.
Its operation will be integrated with the existing Benutan Dam and the gated Tutong downstream barrage of water supply intakes at Kuala Abang and Layong.