KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 13 Putrajaya has confirmed that Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary's Seaport Terminal has won the bid to take Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) in isolation as good as contingency foot the bill of dredging work deemed crucial to making the pier competitive.
The Transport Ministry pronounced in the written reply to the parliamentary subject by Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng yesterday that negotiations with the association tranquil by the logistics aristocrat that runs Johor Port are right away ongoing.
An aerial view of Penang Port.
But Transport Minister as good as MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha replied that "one of the conditions in the privatisation agreement is that the successful association contingency bear the price of dredging Penang Port" though naming if Seaport contingency undertake the work in question.
Dr Chua had final week end brushed aside the indictment that he is masterminding the plan that will see Penang Port being relegated to the tributary port, insisting that the preference was done by the budding minister.
The Penang Port Commission (PPC) authority was reported as observant that any preference is during the discretion of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as good as the have the difference has been discussed for years with the intention of increasing the potency of the port.
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who was transport apportion from March 2008 to Jun 2010, had pronounced final month the argumentative preference to privatise Penang Port usually materialise! d after Dr Chua was allocated authority of the regulatory physique in Nov 2010.
"Yes, because the supervision had no skeleton to privatise when I was transport minister," Ong toldThe Malaysian Insiderwhen asked if skeleton to privatise the port, that has seen the sovereign supervision flow in RM1.1 billion in collateral expenditure in in between 2004 as good as 2009, usually came about after Dr Chua's appointment.
Several DAP lawmakers from Penang had additionally indicted Dr Chua final month of perplexing to stifle the economy of the island state tranquil by their celebration by shelving skeleton to dredge the port's channel.
Three MPs, together with Penang DAP arch Chow Kon Yeow, pronounced the Johor-born former Labis MP was conspiring with Tan Sri Syed Mokhtaral-Bukhary to benefit his home state during Penang's responsibility as good as banish Penang Port to the tributary for the logistics tycoon's Tanjung Pelepas Port (PTP).
But Dr Chua responded by observant the preference not to embark upon the RM350 million dredging was done collectively by the National Economic Council (NEC) as the pier is set to be privatised by the Finance Ministry (MoF) as good as the price should be borne by the concessionaireinstead.
He additionally toldThe Malaysian Insiderit did not have clarity for any bidder not to urge the port's opening as "it is not doing as good as it should be as good as has accumulated the debt of around RM1.3billion."
Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary. record pic
But several shipping atten! tion pla yers expressed disbelief over either Syed Mokhtar, who has emerged as the frontrunner to take Penang Port private, will deepen the channel during his own cost.
Industry players, who declined to be named, toldThe Malaysian Insiderit would not have economic clarity for the in isolation player to dredge the port's channel, generally for Syed Mokhtar additionally controls the rival PTP.
"Definitely it creates some-more clarity to turn Penang Port in to the tributary pier instead of splitting up resources as good as competing with yourself as good as Port Klang," pronounced the former top pier official.
The Penang DAP lawmakers have pronounced that the dredging was needed to allow bigger ships measuring 8,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to call upon the island state along the Straits of Malacca, the world's busiest waterway.
One of them, Liew Chin Tong, additionally rejected Dr Chua's explanation, observant the former health apportion was perplexing to plan the "false picture of Penang Port as the loss-making outfit when the debt is mostly due to the RM1.1 billion investment."
The Bukit Bendera MP warned that Syed Mokhtar might "engage in item stripping by bringing the 7 units of Super Port Panamax cranes from Penang to PTP" as good as reinstate them with six smaller quay cranes from Johor Port, run by the tycoon's Seaport Terminal.
The DAP strategist pronounced that with the smaller cranes incompetent to handle ships measuring 4,000 TEUs as good as above, Syed Mokhtar would have no reason to lift out dredging work around the Penang channel.
The Penang DAP MPs have additionally called for the privatisation exercise to be aborted after Dr Chua's motive that the supervision should not spend upon an item it is planning to sell.
Three DAP MPs have indicted the Johor-born MCA l! eader Dr Chua of conspiring with Syed Mokhtar to benefit his home state during Penang's expense. record pic
Although Dr Chua additionally insisted that PPC has not been informed of any winning bid, the inaugurated member challenged him to deny believe of the Cabinet preference upon Nov 25 to validate Syed Mokhtar's Seaport Terminal.
The Malaysian Insiderreported in Dec 2010 that the Cabinet had approved the MoF's sale of PPSB to PTP despite rival bids from other businessmen as good as additionally the Penang government, that owns the pier land.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wrote to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in early Dec 2010 to put in the bid to run the port, that has declined given the MoF took over in 1994.
The pier lost the free-port status in 1974 though Najib's Barisan Nasional (BN) is charity to reinstate the free-port status if the sovereign bloc regains Penang that it lost in Election 2008.
PPSB is the wholly-owned auxiliary of MoF Inc whilst the regulator, PPC, additionally reports to Putrajaya by the Transport Ministry.
It is learnt that load volumes during Penang Port have unsuccessful to compare that of Port Klang as good as Tanjung Pelepas, growing usually 5.8 per cent the year in in between 1995 as good as 2009, against Klang that grew 14.2 per cent annually.
PTP began in 1999 though right away handles some-more than six million TEUs the year, 5 times some-more than Penang Port, that Liew pronounced had grown to handle 1.3 million TEUs final year.
Penang has complained that sovereign tenure of the pier user has worsened the financial position, with net debt taking flight from RM148 million! in 2004 to RM832 million in 2009 the 462 per cent enlarge in 5 years.
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Courtesy of Bonology.com Politically Incorrect Buzz & Buzz
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