Transport Minister  Liow Tiong Lai said the federal port regulator, Penang Port Commission (PPC), and the Penang Government must work hand in hand to develop SPCT.

“This land dispute cannot prolong.

“The state government must work with PPC to speed up to boost economy together.

“If this lose-lose situation continues, we will be unable to develop the port.

“At the end of the day, the country’s economy is at stake, the state economy is at stake,” he said during a press conference at the PPC’s offices here today.

Liow said PPC’s aim was to quickly settle the land issue with the state government.

“We do not want to play politics here, we want to resolve issues.”

Meanwhile, Liow said the growth of the SPCT had been impeded by the departure of Star Cruises from the terminus.

He said annual arrivals for SPCT had gone up from 221,000 passengers in 2014 to 238,000 last year. He attributed this to many other cruise companies now calling Penang their home.

The SPCT can handle 8,000 passengers at any one time.

The PPC and the Penang Government were involved in a tussle over SPCT, as it sits on land owned by the latter.

PPC, which runs SPCT, had attempted to buy over the land to be redeveloped. However, the state government refused to sell it.

Last December, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said it was willing to co-develop SPCT with PPC.

He said the state government decided not to sell the pier to PPC to “protect state government interests”.

PPC then challenged the state government over the land deal in court.

However, PPC lost the case as the court ruled that the land still belonged to the state government.