The moratorium for bauxite mining in Kuantan starts today, but Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd (KPC) is pleading with the public not to have too high expectations to see a bauxite-free port within a week.

Its chief executive officer, Khasbullah A Kadir, said people must realise that KPC had been given a month from today and until Feb 15 to finish the bauxite stockpile inside the port.

"After the period ends, we have two months to clean up the port. Since there will be less cargo and operations, we have more space and time to focus on the cleaning process, including improving our infrastructure.

"But we must bear in mind that this is not a one-night job. We have prepared the specific plan to address this issue, but the process can take at least one month before we can see the result," he told Bernama when contacted in Kuantan today.

Khasbullah said as for now, the cleaning process was being done on a daily basis and KPC had spent more RM1 million each month for that purpose.

The result, however, might not be up to some people's expectations since the port was handling bauxite in huge volumes, he added.

He also said that KPC was outsourcing the cleaning-up work to six contractors, to do the chores every day.

"We will use the three-month moratorium period to check on our operations.

"At this stage, it is too early to tell any progress, but let's hope for a better and cleaner port after the period ends," he said.

Khasbullah said KPC had bought three special cleaning lorries from China which were expected to start operating this month.

- Bernama