The Sarawak state of Malaysia has approved the release of $164.5 million to finance the Samalaju deep-sea port project in Bintulu town.

The fund will be used for dredging works at the state port, which are expected to start this year and last for two years.

The Samalaju port is being developed to serve industries located in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), one of Malaysia’s five economic growth corridors.

The sea port will sprawl on 450 hectares of land and be about 60 kilometers by road from Bintulu town. It will handle the import of raw materials and the export of finished products for energy-intensive industries in the Samalaju enclave.

Development of the new port will be undertaken by Bintulu Port Holdings, while consulting company KTA (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd is drafting the project layout.

Tenders for the building of interim berth facilities for barges would be called next month.