Samarahan
Encyclopedia
Kota Samarahan is the administrative seat of the Samarahan District (407.1 square kilometres) in Samarahan Division
Samarahan Division
Samarahan Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Formerly part of the First Division, which included Kuching, it became a separate Division in 1985. Samarahan Division has a total area of 4,967.4 square kilometers.Samarahan...

, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, east Malaysia. It is located about 30 kilometers from Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....

. The district population (year 2000 census) was 50,600.

History

Kota Samarahan was once known as Muara Tuang which was at that time a small trading village in the area. The village was linked to Kuching via a road only in the early 1970s. Before that, the only means of transport to the village was via the river.
Development in the small village accelerated with the construction of a 25-kilometre road linking Kota Samarahan to Kuching.

Geography

Kota Samarahan is almost a suburb of the greater metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 of Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....

, in the Kuching Division
Kuching Division
Kuching Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Formerly called the "First Division", it is the center and the starting point of modern Sarawak...

. It is located about 30 km south east of Kuching. The lands in Samarahan are mostly non-hilly, flat and low-lying. Most of the soils are peat soils which are ideal for cocout, oil palm and pineappes plantation. Most of the development in the Samarahan Division is concentrated in Kota Samarahan.

Economy

Agriculture is still the main economic activity in Kota Samarahan but light industries are slowly moving in. The service sector, especially the in education related-sector, is increasingly becoming significant in Samarahan. Commercial centres are slowly mushrooming to cater for the increasing population.

Education

Kota Samarahan has a concentration of universities and educational facilities and thus forms the educational hub for Sarawak. Institutions of higher learning in the area include Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak or UNIMAS was officially incorporated on 24 December 1992. UNIMAS is Malaysia's eighth University, established just after the declaration of Vision 2020...

, Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak)
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Universiti Teknologi MARA is a coeducational public university with its main campus located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.It is the flagship institution of the Universiti Teknologi MARA...

, the Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) Tun Abdul Razak Campus and the Kota Samarahan Industrial Training Institute (ILPKS),

Transportation

Prior to the 1990s, the shortest means of access into Samarahan from Kuching was via the ferry at Sungai Kuap other than direct road access via Jalan Datuk Muhamad Musa which takes more distance to travel through. The construction of a bridge has further shortened the road distance from between Kuching-Kota Samarahan to 11 kilometers. This new road, Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway
Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway
Jalan Mambong–Sejingkat, State Route is a major highway in Kuching and Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.- List of Interchanges and Intersections:...

, links Kota Samarahan with the major industrial areas of Pending, Demak Laut and Sama Jaya. This new road currently undergoing expansion in anticipation of increased traffic between Kuching-Samarahan due to the increasing population in Samarahan..

External links

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