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Scope for alliances among ports in the national port system will be among
the issues that will feature in a two-day international conference on
Bintulu Port that will be open by the Chief Minister of Sarawak Pehin Sri
Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud in Bintulu, Sarawak on 27 March 2006.
Bintulu Port which aims to position itself as a regional hub port serving
the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
will explore the potential for the intra-port cooperation in a panel
discussion that will be participated by Northport, Penang Port, Sabah Port
Authority and chaired by Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas.
Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd is the Conference Host for the Bintulu Port: Making of
a Regional Load Centre Conference & Exhibition 2006, has lined up a
distinguished faculty of speakers, including from the Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority (MIDA), Ministry for Infrastructure Development &
Communications, Sarawak, Customs Department (Sarawak), BIMP-EAGA Business
Council, Bintulu Development Authority, Malaysian Shipowners Association,
Bureau Veritas and Malaysian dredging giant, INAI Kiara Sdn Bhd.
The chief executive officer of Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd, Mior Ahmad Baiti said
the Conference was a welcome move to draw wider attention to the expanding
role of the port.
Bintulu Port, which commenced operations in 1983, is one of the most modern
ports in the region offering multi purpose port facilities.
The facilities include a dedicated container terminal, 3 LNG jetties, a
petroleum and LPG jetty each as well as dedicated bulk cargo wharves and a
palm oil terminal.
The port which handled 36.4 million tones of cargo last year, including
148,000 TEUs, is positioning itself as regional load centre for the
containerized trade in the region with its state of the art facilities.
“We are pleased to be associated with the Conference to further highlight
and increase the awareness of the shipping and port communities the vast
opportunities arising from the expanding role of Bintulu Port in the
region,” he said.
The Conference, organized and managed by PortsWorld, is aimed at providing
Bintulu Port with a platform to further promote the Port and enable it to
secure a wider and deeper outreach among the international shipping and port
communities.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas welcomed the
initiatives taken to hold an international conference and exhibition in
Bintulu as timely as it will further promote Bintulu Port as a port capable
of handling various types of cargo besides liquefied natural gas.
He said that Bintulu Port has the potential to expand and play a more
prominent role in the regional ports system.
“In this regard, I expect Bintulu Port to take a more pro-active approach to
widen and deepen its marketing outreach so that more users in the region and
the country are better informed about the potential and prospects of the
port and the role it can play in the development of the regional trade,”
said Uggah, who is also the chairman of Sarawak Ports Competitiveness
Committee. |
