2016-04-27



Awang Bemee (sixth left, front row) and his board members as well as KPA current and former staff during a group photo-call.

KUCHING: The Kuching Port Authority (KPA) has seen tremendous changes over the last 55 years in tandem with the development of the State.

From becoming the first organised port in Sarawak, to becoming the first port authority in Malaysia to have its Container Tracking Systems, to its expansion project of Pending Terminal and Senari Terminal, to operate the Biawak Oil Jetty, and to be awarded the Sarawak State Secretary’s Trophy in the Sarawak Civil Service Quality Award, and the launching of its e-Port Community System.

KPA chairman Dato Awang Bemee Pengiran Ali Basah who shared the journey of KPA from its first establishment in 1961, had congratulated KPA for its achievement.



Awang Bemee (left) about to release a set of balloons to mark the launch of the KPA 55th anniversary celebration in the presence of board members and senior KPA officers.

He also emphasised KPA’s goal which is to constantly upgrade facilities of the port and to providing efficient port services to port uses, which is in line with its mission statement ‘Ensuring excellent operational efficiency enabling KPA to become high performance gateway in Sarawak’.

“Moving forward, we are working closely with the Indonesia Government to open up Entikong as an international gateway.

“This will facilitate more cargo moving through Kuching Port and Tebedu Inland Port. We also plan to develop a new Bulk Cargo Terminal at Senari over the next three years,” he spoke at the KPA’s 55th anniversary celebration yesterday.

In finance, he said KPA recorded RM10.6 million net surplus after tax in 2015. In the same year, it achieved a four-star rating for the Accountability Index from the National Audit Department – the highest in the State.

He said he his pleased that both Federal and Statement Governments support the dredging of the Sarawak River, which will allow bigger cargo and cruise ships to access Kuching Port without having to wait for the tide.

On Feb 27 this year, the Federal Minister of Transport, Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai visited Senari Terminal and announced the capital dredging project of RM360 million over four years (2016 to 2019), he added.

“I note that this year will be a challenging year due to a general global economic slowdown including devaluation of the ringgit and drop in commodity prices.

“However, I am confident that KPA will do well under the strong leadership of the State Government,” said Awang Bemee.

Kuching Port first started port operations at Ban Hock Wharf in 1948.

To set up port facilities for trading and economic development of the State, KPA was established under the Port Authorities Ordinance, 1961 and it became the first organised port in Sarawak, serving the State and the people.

KPA was officially established on April 4 in 1961 and began its operation on June 5 at Tanah Puteh with a single wharf of 800 feet in length and storage space of 60,000 square feet.

By 1972, it also operated the Biawak Oil Jetty in Pending to supply petroleum products to the adjacent Shell and Esso installations.

By 1975, the construction of the main facilities under Port Expansion Project Phase One at Pending Point was completed and it was declared open on March 16 1975 by the former Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Yaakub, and it was named Datuk Sim Kheng Hong Wharf.

In 1987, port expansion project phase two at Pending Point was completed and the Pending Terminal was declared open on Sept 8 1988 by another former Yang Di Pertua Tun Ahmad Zaidi Addruce.

KPA became the first port authority in Malaysia to have its Container Tracking Systems accorded the MS ISO 9002 certification on Aug 12 in 1998.

In the same year, it received the ‘Sarawak State Secretary’s Trophy’ award in the Sarawak Civil Service Quality Award category.

On Nov 29 1999, the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad declared open the Senari Terminal, which is a dedicated container port.

The use of heavy machinery and cargo handling equipment such as the quay crane, Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTG), and reach stacker has resulted in higher productivity in terms of container handling rates.

The total cargo throughout has increased from 5.4 million tonne in 2001 to 9.3 million tonne in 2015.

Container throughput is about 225,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in 2015.

On April 24 2004, KPA launched its e-Port Community System, which is a web-based platform for the online submission of port documentation for import and export cargo.

Effecitive July 1 2004, the Marine Department had certified KPA to be compliant with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code.

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