Miri, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

🇲🇾 Miri is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of 997.43 square km (385.11 sq mi), located 798 km (496 mi) north-east of Kuching and 329 km (204 mi) south-west of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest city in Sarawak. The city is also the capital of Miri District of the Miri Division.

Before Miri was founded, Marudi was the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak. Miri was founded in 1910 when the first oil well was drilled by Royal Dutch Shell. The discovery of an oil field in Miri has led to rapid development of Miri town. Miri became the administrative centre of the northern region of Sarawak by 1929. During World War II, the Miri oil fields were destroyed by the Brooke government to sabotage Japanese operations in Southeast Asia but to no avail; Miri town was the first landing point of Japanese troops in Borneo. The subsequent Japanese occupation led Miri to become a target of Allied air raids which caused the destruction of oil refinery facilities in Miri. The petroleum industry continued to be a major player in the city's economy after the war. Oil exploration has moved offshore since the 1950s, but subsequently new inland oil fields were found in 1989 and 2011. In 1974, the formation of Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas led to co-operation between Petronas and Shell on oil exploration in the Miri region. In 2005, Miri became the 10th city in Malaysia to be granted official city status, the first non-state capital city to be bestowed such status.

Miri is the main tourist gateway to the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gunung Mulu National Park; Loagan Bunut National Park; Lambir Hills National Park; Niah National Park and Miri-Sibuti Coral Reef National Park. The Gunung Mulu National Park with its Sarawak Chamber, which is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area, remains one of the favourite ecotourism destinations in Miri. Miri is also the birthplace of the Malaysian petroleum industry. Other major industries in the city include timber, oil palm and tourism.

Economy There are a few industrial areas in Miri, some examples include Kuala Baram Industrial Estate (Mixed, Light, and Medium Industries), Piasau Industrial Estate (Mixed Light Industries), Senadin Industrial Area, Eastwood Industrial Estate and Bekenu Light Industrial Area (food processing).

Miri mainly relies on its oil and gas industry, which contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Sarawak. Sarawak Shell Berhad (upstream business) and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd have their offices based in Miri. Other multinational oil and gas companies also set up their offices here, including Nippon Oil, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Technip, Ranhill WorleyParsons, and Petra Resources Sdn Bhd. In 1989, Asam Paya Oilfield was discovered in Sarawak inland areas. In 2010, Petronas discovered two oil fields offshore between Bintulu and Miri. In 2011, new underground reserves of oil and gas deposits were discovered by Nippon Oil in an inland region near Miri, Sarawak.

In the 1970 to 1980s, timber exporting industry became one of the major income generators for Miri. Multinational conglomerates based in Miri such as Shin Yang and Samling had their early beginnings in timber industry. Besides, shipbuilding companies such as Sealink Shipyard, Shin Yang Shipping & Shipyard, Berjaya Dockyard, and Sarawak Slipways have their major shipyards set up in Miri - Kuala Baram industrial area along the Baram river.

First large-scale oil palm plantation in Sarawak began in 1968, in which the newly formed Sarawak Oil Palm Berhad (SOPB) planted a total of 5,000-hectare (50 km²) oil palm plantations near Miri by employing Indonesian workers at these plantations. Since the 1980s, SOPB has a total of 30,000-hectare (300 km²) of oil palm in Miri and Bintulu Divisions, generating a total revenue of RM 85 million in 2005. SOPB is now majority-owned by Shin Yang Group and Sarawak Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) with its headquarters in Miri. By 2014, oil palm plantations between Miri-Bintulu zone constituted 60% of total oil palm estates in Sarawak.

Miri Port Authority (MPA) was established on 1 February 1981 and commenced operation on 1 March 1983. It is located near the mouth of Baram River. The port is able to take in ships measuring up to 1,500 GT (Gross Tonnage), with general cargo area of 50,895 m² and total developed area of 34 hectares (0.34 km²). It is mainly used in handling petroleum, timber products, coal, and building materials. A total of 23.94 million metric tonnes of goods was handled by MPA from 2011 to 2013, which earned a total revenue of RM 48.58 million in port dues.

Miri is a shopping destination for visitors coming from the neighbouring country of Brunei because of a discrepancy in currency exchange rate (100 Brunei dollar to 300 Malaysian ringgit), cheaper items, and a variety of resorts here in Miri for recreational activities. Bintang Plaza and Boulevard Shopping Mall are the two major shopping destinations for Brunei people. As of 2014, Miri visitor movement along Kuala Baram-Kuala Belait checkpoint (Sungai Tujoh, along the Sarawak-Brunei border) reached a total of 2.9 million people in one year. Miri is also an eco-tourism gateway to four national parks and a marine national park. Miri is also a destination for Bruneians to go clubbing on occasion.

The education sector is another income generator for Miri. Curtin University, Malaysia brought in RM 480 million foreign exchange annually from 3,000 foreign students studying at the university.

Transport All the roads in Miri are maintained by Miri City Council (MCC). Miri is accessible by road from Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) through the Sungai Tujoh checkpoint which is located 35 km north of Miri. Miri is connected to all major cities and towns in Sarawak including Kota Kinabalu in Sabah through the Pan Borneo Highway. Miri is also connected to Bintulu town through a coastal road and Marudi through a 42 km road. ASEAN Bridge is located along the Miri-Baram Highway and crosses the Baram River, providing direct access to neighbouring country of Brunei, and the towns of Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak.

Buses and Taxis Miri city has 2 bus stations, namely the local (located at Melayu Road next to Tamu Muhibbah and Wisma Pelita Tunku) and long-distance bus stations (located at Pujut Corner). The city bus station serves the Permyjaya, Tudan, Senadin, Miri Hospital, RTM (Eastern road from Pujut 1 to Pujut 5), Taman Tunku and Sungai Rait + Bakam. Buses to Lambir Hills National Park, rest of division within Sarawak and Pontianak, Indonesia depart from the long-distance bus station. Local taxi services are also provided in the city with the main taxi stand at China Road in the city centre. Taxis here do not use meters. There's no direct bus to Miri Airport, most people will prefer to use car or taxi because of short distance between airport and city.

Transport: Air Miri Airport (IATA: MYY, ICAO: WBGR) is an important gateway to the northern region of Sarawak. It is located 11 km south of Miri city. It serves as a hub for domestic, international, and rural air services. Miri Airport is the Top tenth busiest airport in Malaysia and second in Sarawak. It provides services to 2.2 million passengers in 2013. The airport has only one direct international flights to Singapore. It also receives flights from domestic destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Labuan, Kuching and other major towns in Sarawak. Miri Airport also caters flights to the Sarawak interior such as Bario, Ba'kelalan, Marudi, Lawas, Limbang, and Mukah through MASwings using DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. Currently, there are three airlines serving Miri airport, namely Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and MASwings.

Water Kuala Baram Express Boat Jetty is located 45 minutes away from Miri city centre. It was last operated in the year 2014 and was closed due to the presence of a better air and road connectivity to the interior especially Marudi Town and all other major towns in Baram.