PONTIAN: After a two-month closure, the Kukup International Ferry Terminal today received its first passengers from Tanjung Balai Karimun, Indonesia.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal said he received the confirmation letter of the reopening yesterday evening.
“The reopening was postponed several times but we finally received clearance at 5pm yesterday for Malaysian ferries to depart from and dock in Tanjung Balai.
“This reopening is a result of good relations between the state government and the Indonesian government, particularly in Tanjung Balai. I thank all those involved who worked together for this reopening,” he told reporters at the terminal today.
Dr Sahruddin said the terminal would be run by the Johor Public Transport Corporation, until a suitable operator is found.
He added that there are up to five return trips from Kukup to Tanjung Balai, each with the capacity to ferry a maximum of 170 people.
The reopening of the terminal had been postponed twice due to the previous ferry operator’s failure to settle its debts.
It was reported that the company still owed over RM3 million to the state government.
Another reason for the postponement, Dr Sahruddin had said, was the Indonesian government’s refusal to give permission to Malaysian ferries to dock in the republic.
“The state government will continue to claim the money that is owed to us."
The Kukup International Ferry Terminal was closed on Sept 1 after the state government terminated the agreement of its concessionaire, following which, the ferry operations shifted to the Puteri Harbour International Ferry Terminal in Iskandar Puteri.
The terminal had been scheduled to be reopened on Nov 1, but this was postponed to Nov 6 due to technical issues faced by the ferry operators who were in the process of transferring the ferries from Puteri Harbour.