KUCHING: Bintulu Port, which is currently under the purview of the Transport Ministry (MoT), will be officially handed over to the Sarawak state government in June this year.
It was a decision reached at the Federal-State Joint Committee meeting chaired by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, who is also Sarawak Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development, and federal Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook here today (January 8).
A joint statement issued after the meeting stated that the MoT and the Sarawak Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) next month (February) to finalise the Bintulu Port handover.
It said the MoU would enable the Sarawak Government to establish a Bintulu Port Authority (Sarawak) under the Port Authority Ordinance 1961 while ensuring that the operations of Bintulu Port will not be affected or disturbed during the transition period.
"The Transport Ministry (MoT) will table a Bill to repeal the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981 at the next Parliament session," it said. — Bernama