LABUAN, Sept 27 — The Labuan Port Authority (LPA), which has been operating under the Bintulu Port Authority (BPA) will soon transition into a standalone entity directly under the Ministry of Transport (MoT).
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah confirmed that 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). — Bernama
