KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government and the Sarawak state government have, in principle, agreed on a value of RM1.8 billion for the state’s acquisition of Bintulu Port, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, said the federal government and the Sarawak state government are now at the final stage of the process to hand over the port to the state.
He said a technical committee jointly chaired by both parties is fine-tuning the legal aspects to ensure that all obligations are fulfilled as provided under the Bintulu Port Authority (Dissolution) Act 2023 [Act 59], before the effective date of the Act is set.
“This step is important to enable the Sarawak state government to officially take over the regulation and governance of Bintulu Port.
“The federal government has also determined the payment value as well as the payment method to be adopted by the Sarawak state government for the purpose of acquiring the port,” he said during the question-and-answer session.
He was responding to an original question from Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu) regarding the current status of the takeover of Bintulu Port, including the amount paid by the Sarawak State Government to acquire the port.
Loke said the takeover involved only the port’s regulatory body, namely the Bintulu Port Authority, and not the port operations, which are managed by the concessionaire company, Bintulu Port Holdings.
He said that every year the Bintulu Port Authority receives concession payments from the company holding the concession, and any investment to expand the port would be carried out by the concessionaire company.
“Therefore, there is no issue of the Bintulu Port Authority requiring funds from the federal government because it continues to receive concession payments from the company operating the port,” he said.
Meanwhile, Loke explained that the asset valuation is still being refined between the federal government and the Sarawak state government through several mechanisms, including a technical committee, a working committee and a special committee jointly chaired by the Minister of Transport and the Deputy Premier of Sarawak, with all details to be finalised in the near future.
In terms of information disclosure, he said it is subject to the agreement of both parties, and as far as the Ministry of Transport is concerned, there is nothing to hide because the transaction was carried out transparently.
“Regarding the financial capability of the Sarawak State Government, there is no need for concern because the state government has the capacity to pay the amount, which was agreed upon after a series of negotiations between the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and the Premier of Sarawak.
“In fact, the Sarawak government plans to make a lump-sum payment to the federal government, and this is welcomed,” he said. – BERNAMA
