BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, as Chairman of the Executive Committee for the 10th National Development Plan yesterday consented to tour eleven more sites of projects under the National Development Plan (NDP), this time in the Brunei-Muara District. The working tour of the NDP project sites by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the continuation of the latest series of working visits which began on Saturday in the Tutong District, ©BRUDIRECT.COM reported.
The Crown Prince first consented to visit the Defence Academy project site in Kg Tanah Jambu. On arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Mustappa Hj Sirat; the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Seri Pahlawan Md Tawih Abdullah, and members of the 10th National Development Plan Executive Committee.
Construction of the Defence Academy project costing around BND$60 million began on April 2 last year and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Among the objective of the Defence Academy is to plan, manage and fulfil the needs of the RBAF officers training course to be more systematic; to strive towards creating a positive learning experience for all students of the defence academy; to promote it to the international level and to strengthen relations with other prestigious defence academies.
His Royal Highness continued the working tour with a visit to the Aircraft Department Building, Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College, Phase One Project site at Jalan Utama Berakas, Mukim Berakas ‘A’. The Crown Prince was greeted on arrival by the Minister of Education, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Awg Abu Bakar Hj Apong and the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Pg Dato Paduka Hj Bahrom Pg Hj Bahar. About BND$19 million had been set aside for the construction of the building. The project is in line with the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) long-term plan of providing more conducive and higher quality education infrastructure through the national development plan.
The building is also meant to better accommodate the increasing technical and vocational student numbers, particularly those in the field of aeronautical engineering. The project, which began construction in February 2012, provides facilities such as academic rooms, lecture hall, computer room, and an aviation technical library, laboratory and aircraft hangar.
The introduction of such facilities spells solid support for the realisation of the Ministry of Education’s aspirations in the National Education System for the 21st Century.
His Royal Highness subsequently consented to observe the progress of the Madang / Manggis Mosque construction project. The mosque is being built on a 1.77 hectare plot of land at a cost of about BND$5 million. Once completed, the mosque would be able to accommodate more than two thousand and four hundred congregants.
The construction project, which commenced in 2012, comes under the National Development Plan 2007-2012 and is funded in part by Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (YSHHB), Bank Islam Brunei Berhad (BIBD) and the general public. The purpose of His Royal Highness’ visits to the NDP projects is to closely observe the implementation, planning and operations that have been made thus far of development projects under the National Development Plan.
Construction works on the upcoming Kg Sungai Akar Secondary School constituted one of the projects being observed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The 10th NDP continues to place high priority on the building of education infrastructure in the interest of producing quality and highly capable students. The construction of Sungai Akar Secondary School project commenced in December 2011 and costs around BND$22 million dollars. Among the facilities provided are an Administrative Block, multipurpose hall and parking lot, as well as a track and field. The project is being carried out in view of the growing number of students at existing schools within the surrounding catchment area.
His Royal Highness later consented to proceed to the site of the Maktab Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Building Upgrading Project in the capital. The five-storey building is equipped with eighteen science laboratories, fourteen classrooms, four computer labs, an administrative room, a teachers’ staffroom, lecture hall and library. The project is being carried out at a cost of more than BND$11 million. At present, the college has more than a thousand students, with one hundred and forty five teaching staff.
Also receiving a visit from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the renovation project on the Department of Information building in Berakas which was fully completed last year. Accompanying The Crown Prince during that visit was the Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dato Paduka Hj Abd Wahab Juned. The renovation project comes under the 10th National Development Plan with a budget allocation of BND$5.5 million dollars. The five-storey building includes an auditorium and houses the Administration and Finance, Nationhood and Society, Public Relations, Media Services and International Affairs sections, as well as the Training and Research Unit.
His Royal Highness then toured the new building of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB / BMR) which was also constructed under the 10th NDP with a budget of BND$12 million dollars. The building is being constructed on a 0.556 hectare site. Work on this project began in April last year and is scheduled for completion later this season. Designed to meet security and safety requirements, the building is expected to house the Investigations Section, and comes with modern facilities including a lecture hall, thereby adding to the existing ACB facilities.
Phase Two of the Tungku-Jerudong Link Road construction project, which includes Spg 126 and Spg 324 of Jalan Penghubung Rimba Utara also came under the close attention of His Royal Highness. The BND$29 million project is meant to further ease road travel in the Brunei-Muara District by reducing traffic congestion along the main roads, and would effectively enhance general road safety. The road construction project is slated for completion by mid-2015.
Prior to continuing the working tour in the afternoon, His Royal Highness consented to attend a luncheon at University Brunei Darussalam. On arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by the Permanent Secretary for Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi who is also the Vice-Chancellor of University Brunei Darussalam.
The afternoon leg of the working tour of His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office commenced with a visit to the new additional building of the Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (PAPHRSBIHS), University Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
Construction work on the additional building of the Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences began in October 2011 and was completed in June 2013, consuming a total cost of more than BND$18 million. Built on the environmentally-friendly concept and with a contemporary design, the building is meant to create comfortable study environment and facilities for undergraduates at the institute. The five-storey building has a number of seminar halls, a lecture hall and purpose-built rooms that cater to the teaching and learning requirements of staff and students, as well as a leading-edge Clinical Simulation Centre. The building also comes equipped with state-of-the-art simulators and simulated wards that can be used by students to train real-time in their respective programmes, as well as practical science labs that meet international standards.
His Royal Highness later consented to view the additional Science Faculty building at UBD which began construction in April 2011 and was fully completed in November 2013. The building project cost more than BND$21 million.
His Royal Highness ended the working tour with a visit to the Institute Technology Brunei (ITB) Phase Three project. The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam had provided a sum of nearly BND$33 million for the ITB Phase Three Project through the National Development Plan 2007-2012.
The building is equipped with facilities meant for the students’ convenience, which is consistent with ITB’s efforts to provide higher education and expertise in the fields of engineering, trade and ICT in the country within a more conducive environment. The building serves to accommodate even more students who would be enrolling in the programmes offered at ITB. With its modern infrastructure design and the latest technology, ITB continues to expand and fulfil national demand and requirements in producing highly educated and highly skilled local citizens.
The presence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince throughout the working tour clearly reflects the high level of commitment towards the progress of the implementation of development projects under the 10th National Development Plan, in line with the Brunei Vision 2035 goal of giving Brunei Darussalam an “advanced nation” status. The working tour also represents the continued support from His Royal Highness for the efforts of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in ensuring that government agencies remain constantly aware of, and receptive to current developments, so as to guarantee the prosperity and well-being of the citizens and residents in the country.