JOHOR BAHARU, Dec 31 (Bernama) — The Port of Tanjung Langsat (PTL), in Pasir Gudang, will emerge as the leading chemical logistics hub in South East Asia, given the edge it has over its competitors.

Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the port’s advantages were obvious although it has to compete with integrated petrochemical complexes in Pahang, Terengganu, and Pulau Jurong in Singapore.

Speaking to reporters after officiating PTL’s liquid cargo berth here today, he said PTL can boost of its deepwater facility and offered a far lower cost of operation compared with other ports.

TLP is the third port in Johor, designed to complement the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port.

Positioning itself as Southeast Asia’s premier speciality terminal, it handles bulk cargo such as liquefied petroleum gas and dangerous chemicals.

“PTL’s strategic location in South East Asia will make it the leading port for bulk liquid cargo handling.

“Besides being very spacious with a 4.5 kilometre shoreline fronting the Straits of Johor and depths of 12.8 metres, the port can accommodate large vessels,” he said.

Johor Corporation, which owns PTL, has invested RM300 million to develop five liquid cargo berths.

Its President and Chief Executive, Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim, said another RM600 million would be invested to install additional berth facilities at the port.

By 2012, Johor Corporation would have invested more than RM1 billion and, todate, has invested about RM500 million to develop itself to complement the nearby Tanjung Langsat Industrial Estate.

With the completion of the PTL’s liquid cargo berth, the port can now handle 26 million metric tonnes of liquid cargo annually, making it the biggest liquid cargo port in the country and region.

The PTL berth will also serve Langsat Bulkers Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture between PTL and Felda Johor Bulkers.

As for activities at the complex, Abdul Ghani said Asiaflex Products Sdn Bhd which was in the midst of completing a RM500 million flexible pipe factory, was planning additional investments to produce high-tech “Umbilical Cords”.

Besides, South Korea’s Kiswire Neptune is planning to invest RM250 million to manufacture steel wire ropes at the integrated complex.

MMC Corp Bhd’s subsidiary, Johor Port Bhd (2194) is selling its 75 per cent stake in Bernas Logistics Sdn Bhd to Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) for RM11.76 million.

Upon completion of the sale, Bernas Logistics will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bernas.

In a separate statement, Johor Port said it has also terminated its sub-lease agreement with Bernas, which both parties had entered into on October 6 2005.

The agreement saw Johor Port sub-leasing land measuring 24,510.60 sq m together with two warehouses, to Bernas, from October 6 2005 to December 31 2022 at a sub-lease rental amounting to RM26 million.
As such, RM20.7 million as at March 31 2009, representing the full and final settlement for the termination of the agreement will be refunded by Johor Port to Bernas and Bernas to surrender the two warehouses to Johor Port.

By: Btimes.com.my

LANGSAT Terminal (One) Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between MISC Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd and Puma Energy Asia Pacific B.V., part of the Trafigura group, has completed Phase 1 of its tank terminal project in Tanjung Langsat, Johor.

The terminal received its first shipment of gas oil from its customer, Trafigura Pte Ltd, on Saturday.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, MISC said the terminal is the first tank terminal project for the company and is its first collaboration with Dialog and Trafigura.

PASIR GUDANG: Johor Corp (JCorp) will be investing RM500mil under the second phase of the Tanjung Langsat Port expansion plan this year, said chief executive officer Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim.

Two new berths measuring 500m each dedicated to the handling of general cargo would be built at the port, he said.

“It is necessary to further expand and upgrade facilities at the port to accommodate the needs of existing investors and to attract potential ones,” Ali told reporters after presenting awards to athletes of the Johor Yachting Association on Saturday.

JCorp is the parent company of port operator Tanjung Langsat Sdn Bhd (TLSB) and TMP Technopark Sdn Bhd, which is developing the 1,400ha Tanjung Langsat industrial estate.

Since 2000, TLSB has invested RM500mil in the port, equipping it with machinery to handle liquid petroleum cargo and other hazardous chemicals and building storage facilities.

Ali said the port was originally built to handle liquid petroleum-related cargo, not general or dry cargo. “However, we have to make some changes to include berths for handling general cargo as there is demand for such facilities here,” he said, adding that the port would have between 12 and 14 berths under the port’s long-term expansion plan.

Ali said to date, there were 21 local and foreign companies operating in the industrial estate with a combined total investment of RM10bil including infrastructure.

He said although the outlook for the global economy was uncertain, there remained opportunities in niche segments such as the petrochemicals industry.

JCorp will be targeting more investors from the Middle East and will join a trade delegation to the United Arab Emirates later this month, according to Ali. He said that the Middle East investors he met on his trips to the Gulf States recently had expressed their commitment to invest more in Malaysia.

“They did not want to take any more risk by putting their monies in Europe and the United States unlike before and now most of them see Malaysia as a safe haven for their investments,” he said.

By ZAZALI MUSA

Johor Port Berhad (JPB) manages and operates Johor Port in Pasir Gudang, Johor.  In the late 1960’s, the Malaysian Government had responded to the increasing  demands for a port to be established independent of a foreign port.  Thus, Johore Port was established with facilities adequate for the handling of local cargo and managed by Federal Government.  As the industrial hinterland expanded Johor Port began to further develop its facilities and was gazetted as a Free Zone in the early 1980’s.  It was the first port in Malaysia gazetted as a Free Zone following the multiplying benefits to attract more cargo and businesses.

Johore Port handles all port-related activities including terminal management, cargo handling, storage and warehousing, logistics and marine operations.  JPB offers the facilities for multiple modes of cargo, including break bulk (general cargo), dry bulk, liquid bulk and containerised cargo.

Users benefits from value-added

While terminal management and cargo handling remains the Company’s primary business, Johor Port prides itself in offering and extensive range of non-traditional port activities and value-added services for its customers.  This includes the running of the Free Zone within which Johor Port is located.  Johor Port’s control of its Free Zone services allows it to extend its scope of business and further extend the range of services to its customers.

Minister of Transport Visits Johor Port

Furthermore, having met the stringent requirements such as good security, efficient Free Zone management and excellent multi-purpose facilities, Johor Port is currently one of only four ports in Asia listed on the London Metal Exchange (LME).  The LME is the world’s largest trading platform for non-ferrous metals, and Johor Port is a safe point of storage and distribution of seven such metals: zinc, copper, lead, tin, nickel, aluminium alloy and base aluminium.

The Port also handles all marine operations within its water limits, including pilotage to private jetties, ship-to-ship transfers, salvage operations and the like, Land-based logistics Sdn. Bhd. (JPL).  JPL also operates all intra-port cargo movement.  JPL itself is expanding its total logistics operations to achieve its aim of becoming a major regional logistics player.  Working in synergistically, JPB and JPL form a comprehensive package of services to supplement the users’ supply and distribution chains.

Fully integrated ICT for speedy processing

Johor Port’s operations are managed through various web-based computer applications that allow for speedy transactions between the user and JPB.  The Johor Port Container Terminal System (JCTS) was recently launched as the beginning of a multi-phase implementation of a fully integrated system that will cover the majority of operations at Johor Port.  This system will incorporate the existing Free Zone Information Processing  System (FZIPS) and Marine Services System (MSS) together with the upcoming Multi-Purpose Terminal System (MPTS), which will manage non-container operations, and Port Safety Management System (PSMS), which will manage safety and security at Johor Port.  The ultimate aim of the integrated system is to provide a paperless and streamlined working environment that will substantially reduce operating time and costs for both Johor Port and its users.

Latest Developments

As Ports globally are increasingly competitive, Johor Port in its quest for higher efficiency and productivity, has been undertaking some intense development work.  The development covers operations facilities, support facilities and infrastructure as well as overall aesthetics.

One of the main upgrades is the revamping of the main entrance control.  Previous Customs checkpoint was demolished and replace.  Johor Port’s own security checkpoints also replace with new, dedicated checkpoints for individual entry to Container Terminal and Breakbulk Terminal.  These checkpoints and equipped with CCTV and centralised communications as well as basic utilities.

Facilities for port safety were also upgraded, with the JPB Port Safety Department office being expanded and renovated to house the Fire & Rescue under one roof.  A new Security Service Centre is now available to provide pleasant and professional ambiance to cater for all security issues pertaining to entrance control.

Roads at the main entrance and key intersections were upgraded to durable, heavy-duty concrete pave.  The construction also involved creating maintenance trenches for communications cables and utilities to reduce the impact of future maintenance work on day-to-day operations at the port.  The completed the package, the landscaping in the area has also been revamped with walkways and new foliage appeasing to users and visitors of the Port, thus making the environment suitably convenient and conducive for businesses.

On the operations, JPB has procured several new cranes, some of which have already been deployed recently.  Three new Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTG’s) began operations at the Container Terminal in late 2005, with three more to come in 2007.  Also in early 2007, a new Post-Panamax Gantry Crane will be delivered for wharf operations in the Container Terminal, increasing the total number of wharf cranes at the terminal to eight in total.  A bulk-handling crane was also delivered in the middle of 2006 to improve productivity at the Bulk and Break Bulk terminal.  Warehouses are all fully upgraded and built in 2006, making the total covered storage area for Bulk and Break Bulk to 1.5 million square feet in total.

For the users and seafarers, the Port has conveniently provided place, a mariner centre to converge for meetings or pleasures.  With a bank, clinic, a meeting room, a recreational lounge, a gift shop, a restaurant and three cafes, the mariner centre will be a great place for the Port users to rest and relax as well as conduct important business discussions.  The mariner centre also houses JPB Training Centre and a private marine training centre.

This 30 years ago, when Johor Port Authority was established, many were skeptical about its ability to manage and operate a port in Johor, the southern most state in Malaysia. Far less was expected of its abilities to develop the port industry in Johor to the magnitude it is now. Astoundingly, within a short period of time Johor Port Authority baffled all skeptics when it successfully launched Johor Port into the international maritime trading scene. The ships many though would never come began to queue up, sometimes for days.

Beginning modestly, JPA embarked courageously into the port industry on 1 January 1976 when it was established. The odds then, were against JPA’s success. On one hand there was a realization that a port in Johor was needed to service the local industries and to create better terms of trades for local traders who were suffering from the tariffs and costs of exporting via Singapore. However, despite this recognition there was great skepticism in Johor Port’s ability to return enough revenue to justify its establishment. The biggest worry at the time stemmed from the fact that Johor Port was barely an hour’s steaming time from Singapore, at the time, the region’s biggest and most efficient port. However, JPA illustrated its mark of distinction when it boldly decided to let commercial forces shape the future of Johor Port. As a forward looking organization, JPA embarked on an effort to promote industrial development within the Pasir Gudang area where Johor Port was located. This move proved to be rewarding when it created ready revenue for the port when trade was executed thru Johor Port.

JPA also began an aggressive international marketing campaign which was handsomely rewarded. When in 1979 it launched itself into the container business, again, many were surprised and skeptical. Comments ranged from the fact that Johor Port was only a small party to the fact that container industry was still new to the region and the country did not require Johor to service container lines. All was proved wrong when international liners like Titan and Evergreen began landing in Johor.

It was not merely campaigning and marketing that was required to launch Johor Port Into the international maritime scene, in 1984, JPA succeeded in gazetting  Johor Port as a free trade zone hence becoming the first and only port in Malaysia situated within a free trade zone. All these efforts and commitment to top-class service soon led to Johor Port being the biggest fertilizer handling point in Southeast Asia and the largest in the world in handling palm oil exports in the 80s.

Despite the success it displayed within a short period of time, the tremendous challenges faced by JPA never dissipated.

In 1993 and 1995 respectively, the Government had decided to corporatise and subsequently privatize port services operation in Johor Port. This period marked a turning point for JPA’s role. JPA was restructured in accordance with its main functions as a regulatory body while maintaining watch over all port operations and port development ensuring the smooth running of port operations.

Now, JPA’s wings not only spread over Johor Port, situated at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia. Since 1999 it also overseas port operations at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, in the western part of Johor’ and since 1993, it has been responsible for the Tanjong Belungkor and Changi Ferry Terminals. These changes note a considerable increase in responsibility compared to when JPA was solely responsible for the development in Johor Port.

JPA’s responsibility over the Port of Tanjung Pelepas essentially means it is now responsible for regulating port operations located at the confluence of the region’s busiest shipping routes/ The Port of Tanjung Pelepas is expected to be the region’s main container ports in the region and is expected by many to be the ASEAN’s main trading hub. With the Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal JPA has already prepared an extensive strategic plan to further enhance Tanjung Belungkor’s role as the third southern international gateway to the country.

JPA’s commitment and level of quality was given due recognition when it was accredited ISO 9002:1994 by the Llyods Register Quality Assurance on Provision of supervision of handling of dangerous goods/hot work, pilot certification, port security, licensing of support services contractors and licensing of private jetties. The accreditation was successfully upgraded to ISO 9001:2000 in 2003.

On it’s 30^th Anniversary, JPA has established its indispensable role to ensure the development of maritime trade and port industry in the country and the region. It now plays an important role in the establishment of Johor as Malaysia’s Southern Gateway and in the establishment as Johor as the main logistics and trading hub for the last 30 years, Johor Port Authority will continue to forge a remarkable and distinctive history!

By: Johor Port Authority