SANDAKAN: Efforts to improve the efficiency of Sandakan Port must begin immediately rather than wait for the targeted gas supply to the industrial area here in 2029, said Deputy Chief Minister and Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
He said the shallow shipping channel was among the main challenges that needed to be addressed to ensure the port, one of Sabah’s main ports after Sepanggar and Tawau, could support Sandakan’s industrial growth.
Ewon said the State Government had also asked port operator Suria Capital to invest in equipment and machinery to improve operations at ports under its concession, including Sandakan Port.
He said the Government was also looking at dredging the shipping channel through cooperation between Sitco Mining and Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation (SOGDC), with the dredged sand proposed for reclamation works at the Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Park (Sogip) in Sipitang, although the project remained subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and existing legal and governance requirements.
Ewon, speaking after attending a Lantern Festival celebration with the Chinese community here on Friday, said the Government was also studying requests from industry players to revive barter trade activities on Sabah’s east coast, with a Cabinet paper being prepared following discussions with the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry and parties from Mindanao interested in greater trade cooperation.
