Balingian

Balingian, also called Kuala Balingian, is a town in the Mukah region of Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It lies roughly 286 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital Kuching and about 60 kilometres from Mukah town, between Mukah and Bintulu on the coastal road. The name comes from the river that crosses the town, which local people once used to reach their hill paddy fields. The surrounding Balingian sub-district covers about 3,032 square kilometres and is run by a Sarawak Administrative Officer and three Penghulu, under the Dalat and Mukah District Council. A public health clinic estimate put the town at 15,327 people in 2002, mostly Iban and Melanau living in six villages and 137 longhouses. Shophouses, a weekend bazaar, oil palm estates, sago, rice, fishing and logging support the local economy, and a coal-fired power plant has run nearby since 2019. The climate is tropical rainforest with heavy rain all year.