Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd has commissioned hydraulic and environmental impact assessment studies on the proposed Samalaju port project in Bintulu.
Chief executive officer Datuk Mior Ahmad Baiti Mior Lub Ahmad said the company was now working on a detailed proposal for the development, management and operation of the proposed port for submission to the Sarawak government by Dec 1.
“The proposal will include the project’s layout plan, schedule and terms of the new port’s privatisation,” he told StarBiz.
Bintulu Port received a letter of intent from the Sarawak government last week to submit a detailed proposal on the project.
If the proposal was accepted, Bintulu Port said it would be appointed to build, own and operate the new state port, the fourth in Sarawak. The other three state ports are in Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
The state government has earmarked some 450ha for the port project. The new port will serve the energy-intensive industries in the Samalaju Industrial Park within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy.
Three aluminium smelters, a managese smelter and steel-related industries have been planned for the Samalaju Industrial Park. Japan’s Tokuyama Corp, the first major investor in the park which is currently being developed, is investing more than RM2bil in a polycrystalline silicon plant.
These industries will draw their power supply from the 2,400MW Bakun hydro-electric dam, which is expected to produce electricity by mid-2011.
Mior Ahmad said the size of the proposed port and its annual handling capacity had yet to be determined but it would be phased in inline with the industrial development in the area.
“We have to discuss the various details, including the duration of the appointment as the licensed operator as well as terms and conditions of the privatisation of the port undertakings with the state government,” he added.
