By Peter Sibon
KUCHING, Feb 25: Long Lama town needs a commercial bank as its population has ballooned to about 20,000 and is growing, said Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
He told DayakDaily today that the presence of a bank would help spur overall development of the town in particular and the district in general.
Currently, the nearest bank from Long Lama town is in Miri City — about 130km away!
“With Long Lama becoming increasingly accessible to the outside world with the completion of the Long Lama Bridge in April (this year), it is high time for banking institutions to open up their branches in the town.
“With the setting up of a bank, at least the 20,000 people in and around Long Lama will benefit. The population is expected to grow with the opening up of the bridge, coupled with a good road network.”
Dennis disclosed that efforts were now underway to connect Miri to Long Lama town, Bedian sub-district, Long Iman and to Gunung Mulu National Park.
“This will definitely encourage more visitors to Mulu by road, which means it will bring in more people to Long Lama.”
He added that the state government had also appointed the Sarawak Land Development Board (SLDB) as the lead agency to spearhead the development of the rural growth centre (RCG) in Long Lama.
“This will draw more people to live in Long Lama, thus creating a critical mass for economic growth.” — DayakDaily
