In Southeast Asia, a new bridge was officially opened at the border of Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. This bridge, carrying the Pan-Borneo Highway, specifically crosses the Pandaruan River between the Limbang District in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the Temburong District in Brunei Darussalam. The Pandaruan Bridge (also known as the Malaysia-Brunei Darussalam Friendship Bridge) replaced a ferry service that had been operating between both countries.
It took about a year-and-a-half to build the 620-foot (189-meter)-long Pandaruan Bridge. Those on hand for the bridge’s debut included various public officials and other citizens from Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. “The ceremony was a jovial one,” reported the Brunei Times.
A key part of this ceremony entailed having Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Brunei Darussalam’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – both characterized by the Brunei Times as “sharing lively conversation and laughs throughout the event” – sign a plaque and cut a ribbon at the center of the bridge. Several motor vehicles, each carrying passengers who waved the flags of both countries, then made their way across each side of the bridge. “This is the first bridge to be built jointly by the two countries and it is also a reflection of the close relationship between the two countries,” said Najib.
For more information on the Pandaruan Bridge (Malaysia-Brunei Darussalam Friendship Bridge) and its grand opening, please check out the 9 December 2013 Borneo Post article “Friendship Bridge a symbol of close M’sia-Brunei ties” at http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/12/09/friendship-bridge-a-symbol-of-close-msia-brunei-ties/
Transportation History 
Leave a comment