Azlan Othman
In meeting the demand for land from various sectors to generate national growth, the Department of Town and Country Planning (TCP), which is the responsible agency, needs to emphasise the importance of optimal land use planning policies, including a more effective and strategic land distribution mechanism, Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid said.
He added that it is to ensure the supply of land that has been or will be allocated for development plans that have been identified will be able to be implemented and yield positive results to support the three strategic goals of Brunei Vision 2035 – in ensuring that the people will be highly educated, skilled and successful; people with a high quality of life; and a dynamic and sustainable national economy.
He said this at the golden jubilee celebration of the TCP.
“I understand that some land use planning plans will expire in 2025, where through 12th National Development Plan (RKN) later, Insya Allah, the Department of Town and Country Planning will develop review projects,” he added. In this regard, the minister highlighted the importance of the latest and comprehensive information during the review in identifying optimal land use planning and control policies that are far sighted, relevant, adaptable and conducive to meet current and future development requirements in a balanced and strategic manner.
In this context, the involvement of interested government, private sector and the public sector is also necessary with more emphasis on a creative and comprehensive approach in identifying land use planning policies and development control that is people-centric and inclusive to jointly create a sustainable and resilient development for present and future generations.
Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda said limited supply of land is one of the current challenges in ensuring current urban and rural development planning and in the future.
In this effort, balance with the need for preservation or conservation, especially green areas, environmentally sensitive areas and water resource catchment areas, and so on is essential to generate a balance of environmental ecosystems and sustainable as well as competitive development.
At the same time, the country also needs to deal with the global phenomenon of climate change, where its effects can be felt at the moment.
Among them are changing weather conditions and rising sea levels which, if not controlled and mitigated effectively, can affect the smoothness and quality of life such as the effects of flash floods and landslides.
All this is a clear phenomenon that is increasingly worrying. Therefore, the priority to ensure a quality, sustainable and safe environment through planned and integrated progress is highly emphasised.
The TCP’s golden jubilee celebration carries the theme ‘50 Years of Establishment of Town and Country Planning: Achievement, Challenges and the Future’.
The minister presented prizes to Mohammad Nor Adha Shah bin Sarugi for winning the golden jubilee logo design contest and a representative of Chloe Raphaele Ramesh from St Andrew’s School who won the ‘My Ideal City’ painting competition for students aged 10-14 years.
The minister also viewed an exhibition to mark the golden jubilee celebration.
