Belaga, Sarawak

Belaga is the capital of the Belaga District (19,403.2 square kilometers) in the Kapit Division of Sarawak in east Malaysia. It is located on the upper reaches of the Rajang River, some 120 kilometers northeast of Kapit as the crow flies but considerably further on the river and slightly less than 100 kilometers from the South China Sea coast near Bintulu. The district population as of 2002 was 25,300. Belaga grew up in the early 1900s when a few Chinese traders set up shops and started trading with the Orang Ulu, supplying essentials such as kerosene, salt and manufactured goods.

The last frontier

Belaga is considered a good place to start exploring the Sarawak's interior. There are many Kayan and Kenyah longhouses along the Balui and Belaga rivers, and along the Rejang rivers are the Punan, Sekapan, Kejaman and Tanjung longhouses. It is connected with Kapit by boat known locally as express boat (4.5 hours) and with Bintulu by air (once a week) and by trunk road.

Bakun Dam

To the north [ [http://borneo.live.radicaldesigns.org/img/original/bakun_location.jpgMap] of the dam location.] is a massive dam project, the Bakun Dam, which is the largest dam in Asia outside of China. The dam was intended to provide electricity for Sarawak,other surrounding regions and Peninsular Malaysia, but its construction was delayed several times due to economic circumstances, in particular the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. [Brief [http://borneoproject.org/article.php?id=68 description] of the project] The federal government decided to continue the project, as billions of ringgit had already been spent on it. However during the early implementation stage of the construction the plan was scaled down in order to reduce cost.

Nevertheless in January 2007,the Malaysian federal government announced its intention to reactivate the initial plan to transfer the power generated by the dam to Peninsular Malaysia via a submarine power cable.The submarine cable will span a distance of 670 kilometres and reach the shore of Peninsular Malaysia at Yong Peng,at the state of Johor, southeastern part of the peninsular.It is expected to be completed the earliest by 2012.Before flowing through the submarine cable, the electricity will flow from Bakun to the western tip of Sarawak via over head electric transmission cables traversing a distance of 700 kilometres.The additional project is expected to cost between RM9 billion and RM10 billions.

The dam has been accused of uprooting 11,000 Orang Ulu from their traditional homes, clear-cutting hundred of square kilometers of ancient virgin tropical rainforest with consequent losses of hundreds of endangered plants and endangered animals, and forever changing the natural environment of Sarawak. More about belaga, please visit www.e-belaga.com

Accommodation

There a few budget hotels available in this small town.

1. Sing Soon Huat Hotel offer comfortable, clean hotel room with private washroom and in-room TV.

2. Belaga Hotel

3. Sing Soon Hing Hotel, great deal with clean private washroom and in-room TV.

www.e-belaga.com

References

[http://www.e-belaga.com Belaga Website]