State Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Junz Wong said the government would shift the landing site for fishing vessels from the Sabah Fish Marketing Sdn Bhd (Safma) jetty to this new site.

“The Safma jetty can no longer accommodate and provide the need for basic amenities such as water, ice supply and fuel as well as maintenance and repair services for the vessels.

“The jetty is also quite worn out and cannot cater to the many commercial boats coming in to berth. We anticipate the fishing vessels to increase in future so this i-Port is definitely needed,” he said in a statement today.

The Safma jetty was built on a 2.2-acre site on the shores of the Kota Kinabalu town centre in 1980 but has become too small, with no capacity to take in downstream industries such as processing factories or cold storage buildings.

Wong said the i-Port would be built on a 20-acre land in Kibagu, describing the location as appropriate and strategic.

“We will also apply for extra funds from the federal government on top of the RM200 million needed to build the port.

“A total of 346 commercial fishing boats operating in the Sabah west coast, 52 deep-sea fishing vessels and 130 commercial boats operating in Kudat can use this i-Port,” he said.

The modern port will be able to provide the necessary facilities and infrastructure to support the deep-sea fishing industry and marine catch downstream industries.

“A detailed study will be carried out and we will involve and get the input and views from all stakeholders,” Wong said.