cable stayed bridge at kong kong in johor

today, we went back to kong kong in johor to check on the status of the cable-stayed bridge that is being constructed across the johor river. the stated completion date was the end of 2008 but when we reached kong kong today, there was still no cable bridge in sight. the main span of the bridge will be 500m and the pylon height is going to be 150m above the surface of the river.





what we saw from the yaacob's fishing jetty at kong kong were the two main towers in the middle of the river. we checked with the local people and they believed that the bridge should be ready by the end of the year (2009). the bridge forms part of the senai-desaru highway. it is expected to reduce travelling time to desaru (from johor bahru) by about 50 minutes.

yaacob's jetty seems like a popular fishing spot in this part of the johor river. we made enquiries and found out that it would cost rm$30 to hire a boat for 12 hours to go fishing along the johor river. there was a write-up in the berita harian featuring the owner of the place, with a picture of him and his prized catch.

at the kong kong and the kg sg latoh junction, there are a few eateries. some are built on stilts over the waters of the johor river. the stalls sell malay dishes like mee rebus, nasi lemak and mee soto. over in johor, especially in this part of it, it is a common practice to help yourselves to the items that you want to go with your rice. we had lunch at kong kong before making our way back.

while we were near one of the eateries, a father and son came back from the river with their catch. they had use nets and caught more than fifteen of these river cat fish. they told us the fish were for their own consumption.

this fishing village is a nice get-away. it is only 42km from johor bahru and you can get to it via the pasir gudang highway. we took a slightly different route to get there. we travelled a short stretch of the pasir gudang highway and exited near the giant hypermarket to get onto route j10 which took us past masai before reaching kong kong.

on our next visit, my friend victor samuel intends to hire a boat to take us up the johor river to johor lama. when he was a university student, he went on a trip along the same river with his lecturer and some other students.

kong kong fishing village (johor)

kong kong is a quiet fishing village about 42km from johor bahru. it is located on the west bank of sungai johor. according to the johor tourist website, it is a haven for anglers and seasports enthusiasts and also a place famous for its seafood. my friend nah, who had seafood at one of the restaurants, cautions about the hygience of the place.

my first visit to kong kong was made last year when we drove to masai and from there made a side trip to kong kong, which is about 18km from masai. from masai, you just stay on route j10 and that will lead us to the fishing village.



while we were there, the construction of the 1708m long sungai johor bridge was still in progress. when completed - which it should be - it will be one of the longest single plane cable-stayed bridges in malaysia. it connects kong kong on the west bank to teluk sangat on the east. telok sangat, near desaru, is another laid-back place, well-known for its seafood.

the bridge was scheduled for completion in june 2008. it is about time we visited kong kong again to travel across the cable-stayed bridge.