Putrajaya approves plan for new port in Yan, Kedah

 

Sanusi Md Nor said the new port authority will take into account the interests of the state, including the collection of taxes and fees. (Bernama pic)

ALOR SETAR: The Kedah government today said it would build a new port in the coastal district of Yan which is located between Alor Setar and Sungai Petani.

Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the new Yan port has received federal approval, which also covered related developments around the new port.

In a statement, he said a new Kedah Port Authority (KPA) will be established.

According to Sanusi, aside from the new port in Yan, KPA would also take over various existing ports, some of which are currently under the Penang Port Commission (PPC), such as the Teluk Ewa Jetty in Langkawi.

“KPA will also need to take into account the interests of the state, including the collection of taxes and fees.

“In the meantime, my government has proposed that the state be involved in the development of the Yan port and in ensuring local development surrounding the area is at the top of our development agenda.

“As for environmental issues, the borders of the port, the development of inland areas and other developments in the immediate vicinity, they have to be in line with the 2035 Kedah Development Plan,” he said.

The operation of the Teluk Ewa Jetty in Langkawi is currently overseen by PPC through a ministerial order in 1999 as its port and regulatory authority. PPC has in turn licensed the jetty to be run by Kedah Cement Jetty Sdn Bhd.

Teluk Ewa Jetty, located on a 45-acre site on the northern coast of Langkawi, is mainly used for transporting raw materials and parts for the cement plant in Teluk Ewa as well as for exporting cement. - FMT