The Penang state government has urged Transport Minister Hishamudin Hussein to come clean on the status of the privatisation of Penang Port.

In a statement today, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Hishammuddin ( right ) must clarify if operational control has been granted to Seaport Terminal owned by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari.

He also wanted the minister to disclose the terms of this privatisation exercise and how it benefits Penang and the public, particularly when there was no open competitive tender.

"If the ministry is unable to convince the public of the real benefits to the public of this closed privatisation exercise, then a fresh open competitive tender should be called," he added.

Lim said the lack of direction, certainty and clarity by the ministry over the future of Penang Port is not only a loss to the logistics business in Penang but can also jeopardise the state's potential to establish itself as a hub in the Indonesia, Malaysia Thailand Growth Triangle as well as transform into an international and intelligent city.

The ministry, he said, must take full responsibility for the powers granted to them to run the country's ports.

"By failing to do so, they also surrender the power to change the people’s future for the better," he added.

At the same time, Lim asked if the Transport Ministry and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) have resolved the problems at Padang Besar Inland Dryport Railway Station that prevented Penang Port from earning revenue of between RM75 million to RM100 million annually?

"Established in 1983, the border dryport is managed by KTMB's Multimodal Freight and fraught with problems of land scarcity and inept handling of cargos coming from Thailand.

"It was reported that some 500,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) cargos on the other side of the border in Thailand, cannot come in because the dryport is unable to cope with the load. KTMB is struggling to cope with 120,000 TEUs because their cranes are not up to standard. Clearly, KTMB is good at moving passengers but not so with containers," he said.

As such, he added, these cargos from Thailand that failed to enter Malaysia are being shipped out from ports in Phuket, Trang, Bangkok and even Singapore.

"This is one of the reasons why despite the existence of seven Super Post Panamex cranes that could cater to 8,000 TEUs per vessel, Penang Port only handled one million TEUs a year, five times less than Port of Tanjung Pelepas that began in 1989.

"Another problem is the failure of the federal government to fulfill its promise of implementing the RM353 million deep sea dredging project at the Northen Channel of the Penang port to allow super containers to come to Penang Port.

"The three-year delay in deep sea dredging has caused extensive loss of business and competitiveness for Penang Port, which can only be addressed when the future of Penang Port vis-a-vis the status of the privatisation exercise is addressed," he added.