An aerial view of Bintulu Port
KUALA LUMPUR: Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd
’s wholly owned subsidiary Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) has signed a third interim agreement (IA) with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Bintulu Port Authority (BPA) to extend its operation of Bintulu Port for an additional 12 months.
Bintulu Port said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that the extension will run from Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025, or until the Declaration of an Area in the Bintulu District to be a Federal Port (Repeal) Act 2024 and the Bintulu Port Authority (Dissolution) Act 2024 come into effect, whichever is earlier.
Previously, BPSB had entered into an initial IA with the government and BPA to continue the operations of Bintulu Port under an interim period (IP) of six months effective Jan 1, 2023 till June 30, 2023.
This was followed by the second IA, which extended the IP by 12 months from July 1, 2023 until June 30, 2024, and subsequently a further extension of six months until Dec 31, 2024, it said.
As announced in Budget 2024, the federal government agreed to transfer Bintulu Port's regulatory powers to the Sarawak state government, changing its status to a state port, with a memorandum of understanding signed on March 22, 2024 to facilitate the transition, it said.
It said the MOT had presented the necessary legislation to Parliament, and both the Federal Port (Repeal) Bill 2024 and the Bintulu Port Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2024 were passed.
"Currently, the state government, BPA and BPSB are finalising the Port Operation Agreement to appoint BPSB as the operator when Bintulu Port becomes a state port regulated by Sarawak,” it added. - Bernama
