Setting up of Labuan Port Authority gaining momentum
LABUAN: The setting up of a port authority as a regulatory body to take control of Labuan port’s operations and administration under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) is gaining momentum.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the Labuan Port Authority (LPA) would come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport as decided in meetings attended by the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Planning Unit and Labuan Corporation.
“The Labuan liberty port has not been regulated by any local port authority, so the establishment of the port authority is timely.
“We hope it will be (set up) under the 11th Malaysian Plan,” he told reporters after the Town Hall Session with Labuan residents and government officials here yesterday.
The Labuan port concessionaire is Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Labuan, the investment arm of the Malaysian Malay Chambers of Commerce Labuan, and is being managed by the Labuan Liberty Port Management Sdn Bhd since 1998.
Adnan said it was agreed that the power of authority of the Bintulu Port Authority in the Labuan Port and terminal administration would be extended.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi was reported as saying that the establishment of the LPA as a regulatory body over the Labuan port would effectively and efficiently monitor its services and management.
He said the regulatory body would ensure the port in Labuan is well-managed due to high demand for better services, and would look into port charges and services.
Aziz said his ministry would stick to its plan to set up an integrated port in Labuan under the 11MP.