KUCHING, May 7 — Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today said the Sarawak Central Port authority will be established based on a study on the Singapore port sector.

He said a delegation from Sarawak visited Singapore in March last year to understand and learn about the reformation of the Singapore port sector that took place in the 1990s.

"From the visit to Singapore, we were able to engage with the local authorities and the commercial arm of the port sector and we got to understand the process of how the port sector became the world’s business transshipment port,” he said when tabling the Sarawak Port Authority Bill 2024 at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.

Uggah, who is also the Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development, said the Bill seeks to replace the existing Port Authority Ordinance 1961 that has been in existence for the last 63 years.

He said the Bill also sought to form the Sarawak Port Authority that will manage, regulate, control, and administer all ports in Sarawak.

He said it is also to provide the functions and power of licensing of operations, port undertakings and matters connected to port operations.

Uggah said among the reasons for the establishment of the central port authority is that Sarawak has witnessed a massive economic development transformation where the port development plays an important role.

"Therefore, ports must transform by forming a central port authority,” he added.

He said the consolidation of the port authorities into a central port could increase efficiency, streamline operations, remove redundancy and implement uniform policies across all ports.