"The fact that we have not made any announcements yet does not mean that we are not moving, we are moving very aggressively. We will announce it when the time is right," he told reporters when asked the status of the government's decision to turn Malaysia into a hub for low-fare carriers after opening the World Maritime Forum here Monday.

On Malaysia Airlines plans to set up a low-fare carrier, he said: "I have not received such plans, but I will want to meet both MAS and AirAsia."

He said he believed that there was room for co-operation and the two airlines "do not have to cut each other's throats."

"I'm not trying to say that they are doing it now, but they don't have to. As far as we are concerned, national interest and the interest of the aviation industry has to come first," he added.

On the improving the competitiveness of Malaysia's ports, Chan said there were efforts to attract industries to set up operations near Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) to increase traffic at the ports.

"We are working towards setting up free trade zones and commercial zones so ports will not be dependent on transhipment alone. At present 97 percent of PTP's operations are dependent on transhipment," he said, adding that these zones would enhance the position of ports.

Chan said he was confident that Port Klang and PTP, ranked at 12th and

16th among the top 20 ports in the world, would retain their positions.s