Sarawak set to take over Bintulu Port this June, say authorities

KUCHING (Jan 8): Sarawak’s takeover of Bintulu Port would be realised come June this year.

The federal Transport Ministry, in a joint statement with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development Sarawak, said the decision to hand over Bintulu Port in six months’ time was finalised during the Federal-State Joint Committee Meeting at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.

The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development Sarawak Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, and federal Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

The statement said following this decision, the Transport Ministry would table a Bill to repeal the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981, during the 2024 Parliament sitting.

The Sarawak government would also be establishing the Bintulu Port Authority (Sarawak) under the Port Authority Ordinance 1961 to ensure that the operation of Bintulu Port would not be affected and disrupted by the process in the change of status.

The statement also said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed next month to realise the handover of Bintulu Port to the Sarawak government.

Also present at the meeting were State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister I for Infrastructure and Port Development Sarawak Datuk Aidel Lariwoo, and the ministry’s permanent secretary Datu Chiew Chee Yaw.

In January last year, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the Sarawak government was intent on taking back control of Bintulu Port from the federal government as part of the state’s overall port development strategies.

He said the state government wanted the federal government to discontinue Bintulu Port as a federal facility so that it could be administered and further developed as a state port in accordance with the strategies drawn up for ports in Sarawak.

Abang Johari also said taking over Bintulu Port would enable the state government to have a master plan for the development of all ports in Sarawak, and to ensure that each port would play its own special role in the promotion of trade and business, while also enhancing shipping connectivity with other major global transportation and logistics hubs.

Bintulu Port was built after Parliament declared an area in Bintulu District as a federal port through the Federal Port Act (Act 217) in 1981.

Following the enactment of this Act, Bintulu Port was declared a federal port.

The Parliament then passed the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981 to form the Bintulu Port Authority (BPA), tasked with building, controlling, administering and regulating Bintulu Port.