BINTULU: Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today expressed his gratitude to the Defence Ministry for stepping up efforts to strengthen the military presence in Bintulu.
He said the state government welcomed the ministry's efforts to set up a naval base there as investments, running into billions, needed to be protected.
"I thank the federal government for stationing a military base in Bintulu, but what is important is the naval base," he said at the launch of the Borneo Oil and Gas Supply Base at the Bintulu Port here.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Defence Ministry and the security forces for the cooperation rendered to the state government in protecting Bintulu and other parts of Sarawak.
Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah recently called on the federal government to speed up the construction of a naval base in Bintulu.
He had said that the South China Sea could be an area of conflict in future and that investments in Bintulu need to be protected.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin had said recently that the ministry was in the final stage of negotiating the premium land price with the Sarawak government for the construction of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) new base, the Fourth Naval Regional Headquarters (Mawilla 4), in Bintulu.
He said that the Sarawak government had expressed strong support for the project. The new base will be designed to accommodate the Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) upon its completion.
He said the negotiation on land price was the final issue to be resolved, adding that once an agreement had been reached, construction of the new naval base would commence.