KUCHING: A three-hour journey from Bintulu Port to Nusantara, the new capital of Indonesia in the future?
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian has floated the possibility, saying a railway line could be built to link the port with Nusantara.
His conviction stems from the fact that Bintulu Port is the most profitable port in the country with a huge potential going forward.
“From Bintulu Port to the new capital of Indonesia, Nusantara, it is only a few hundred kilometres. So, with the high-speed railway like China, people can arrive in Nusantara from Bintulu in three hours,” he said.
“As compared to using a ship, which would take a longer period of two days. So, which one do you think people would prefer?”
He said this during a cheque presentation to NGOs and associations at the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) headquarters here today (Mar 24).
On Friday (Mar 22), the Sarawak government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the federal government to take over Bintulu Port.
Currently, Bintulu Port is a federally regulated port under the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981.
With the change in status, Bintulu Port will become a state port under state legislation pursuant to Article 15 in List IIA, Schedule Nine of the Federal Constitution.
Dr Sim, who is also SUPP president said the government is carrying out a feasibility study on a railway project linking Sarawak to Sabah and Kalimantan.
In November last year, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the feasibility study of a rail system connecting Sabah and Sarawak will begin this year after the allocation for this purpose in the 2024 Budget is approved by parliament.
Loke added that the government was open to discussions with the Indonesian government regarding the proposal to create a transportation system connecting Sabah and Sarawak with the new Indonesian capital in Kalimantan.
Should it materialise, it will be the first railway project of such scale on Borneo Island.
