KUCHING: The Sarawak government is well-prepared to take over Bintulu Port which is set to be handed over by the federal government in June.
However, State Secretary Datuk Amar Abu Bakar Marzuki said there are several matters that need to be resolved before completing the acquisition process and brought to Parliament.
He declined to give detailed information on the current progress of the port handover.
“The state government is taking over the Bintulu Port Authority while Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad is the operator.
“The Premier will make the announcement. I don’t want to jump the gun. And our target for the takeover is by June this year,” he told the press after attending Bintulu Port Media Appreciation Night at a hotel here yesterday (Feb 27).
It was previously reported that the Bintulu Port, which is currently under the purview of the Transport Ministry will be officially handed over to the Sarawak government in June this year.
The decision was reached in a joint committee meeting chaired by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and federal Minister of Transport Anthony Loke which took place in Kuching last month.
The same report also stated that the federal Ministry of Transport will table a law to dissolve the Bintulu Port Act 1981 in Parliament this year and the state government will create the Bintulu Port Board under the Port Board Ordinance 1961, to ensure the operation of the port will run smoothly once the state government takes over.
