KUCHING: Sarawak's Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah and Transport Minister Anthony Loke have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to initiate the process for the federal government to hand over Bintulu Port to the state.
The state's Public Communications Unit (UKAS) reported that the MoU was signed at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.
The unit reported the signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Sarawak's Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
In the post-signing media conference, Abang Johari said that Bintulu Port will be further expanded after its handover to include facilities for new industries, such as hydrogen.
He was referring to the H2biscus and H2ornbill projects in the Bintulu Petchem Industrial Park that are expected to be operational in 2027.
The decision to hand over Bintulu Port to the Sarawak government by June 30 this year was finalised during the Federal-State Joint Committee meeting here in January.
The Sarawak Cabinet in February last year had directed Uggah, who is also the Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, to continue pursuing the takeover of the Bintulu Port with the federal Minister of Transport.
Uggah had told staff and guests at his ministry's Chinese New Year gathering here that Abang Johari gave the directive during the monthly cabinet meeting on Feb 2.
The state's desire to take over the port, which started operation in 1983, was not new.
Uggah's predecessor, the late Tan Sri James Masing, had in 2019 been given a similar cabinet directive.
Masing died on October 31, 2021 from Covid-19 complications.
Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the agreement in forming Malaysia, all ports in Sarawak are to come under the control of the state government.
Bintulu Port however, was an exception.
The port was declared a federal port through an Act passed in Parliament in 1978.
It became operational in 1981 and became an important import and export gateway for Sarawak.
It soon became East Malaysia's largest container port and the nation's sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) export gateway.
To funnel some of the export business away from the Bintulu Port, the state built another port at the Samalaju industrial park, some 71km away in the direction of Miri,for the export of products manufactured in the Samalaju industrial area like aluminium, pulp and paper, silicon, manganese and fertiliser.