LABUAN – The Labuan Port Authority (LPA), which is currently managed by the Bintulu Port Authority, will soon fall directly under the Ministry of Transport (MoT) following the official transfer of the Bintulu Port Authority to the Sarawak Government.
According to Bernama, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the reorganisation, as outlined under the Federal Port Act, will take effect once the transfer is completed, which is expected to happen next year.
“Once the LPA comes under the MoT, it will operate as a federal port authority, although several key issues must be addressed before the formal transfer,” he told reporters after launching the integrated programme of Gegar Labuan at the Labuan International Sports Complex on Saturday.
Loke also mentioned that the MoT would appoint a general manager to oversee the authority.
On the long-proposed Labuan Integrated Port project, Loke noted that several development proposals from the private sector are still under review and have not yet been finalised.
“Any port development project will follow a privatisation model, which does not require government funding. This model allows the MoT to serve strictly as a regulatory body rather than an operational one,” he added.
In September, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah confirmed that the transition into a standalone entity directly under the ministry
The formal announcement would follow once all matters related to the BPA’s handover to the Sarawak government were finalised.
“The transition of the Bintulu Port Authority to the Sarawak government has already been approved by Parliament.
“After the remaining internal matters are resolved, the Labuan Port Authority will be officially gazetted as a single authority.
“The move towards making the LPA an independent authority is certain. It’s just a matter of settling internal processes before the transition is complete,” he told reporters after his working visit to the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) Labuan branch yesterday.
According to LPA, the Bintulu Port Authority had initially extended its regulatory functions to the Labuan Port Authority on January 26, 2017, allowing the LPA to operate as both a statutory and regulatory body.
Since then, the LPA has overseen development, administration, and port service provision to ensure that Labuan Port serves as an efficient gateway for merchant ships.
This aligns with Labuan’s status as an International Offshore Financial Centre, declared on October 1, 1990.
The LPA has appointed Straits Inter Logistic Berhad (SILB) as the new terminal operator responsible for handling operations and facility management at Labuan Liberty Terminal, effective April 1, 2020, and these responsibilities were managed by Megah Port Management Sdn Bhd (MPM). — November 9, 2024