Plans are underway to increase the capacity of the newly-completed Sepanggar Container Port Terminal (SPTC) in order to meet growing demand.

According to Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, ever since the container port was open for business, it has been recording an upward trend in performance.

Speaking after attending a briefing cum work visit to SPTC, Thursday, he said Sabah Port Sdn Bhd (SPSB) has been mulling over the expansion plan.

This is to further improve the port’s capacity to enable it to handle more containers coming into Sabah.

“The port has been recording a commendable increase in terms of operational performance and an expansion plan is necessary and something to look forward to,” he said.

This despite the port with a capacity of 500,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) handling only about 200,000 TEUs last year as said by its Chief Operating Officer Mohd Sahid Nawab Khan.

Pairin said the privatisation of ports in Sabah has resulted in their management becoming more efficient as reflected by the steady increase of operational performance.

He said that positive performance displayed by the container port showed that it was heading in the right direction.

Explaining the expansion plan, he said it would be carried out based on projected future needs. “The plan would include increasing the size of the container yard and docking areas.”

Costing RM400 million over 22ha in Sepanggar opposite the Naval Base, the port commenced operations on June 9, 2007.

Plan for expansion of the newly completed Sepanggar Container Port Terminal (SPTC) is being foreseen.

Infrastructure Development Minister, Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan yesterday said Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd (SPSB), the government-linked company managing the port, was already mulling on expansion plan to further improve the port’s capacity.

The port, sitting on a 22 hectare land started operation June 9, 2007, has a capacity of 500,000 TEUs but last year it handled only about 200,000 TEUs, as revealed by its Chief Operating Officer, Mohd Sahid Nawab Khan.

However, according to Pairin, since commencing operation it has recorded a commendable increase in terms of operational performance and thus an expansion plan was something to look forward to.

He said the move to privatize the ports in Sabah has resulted in a more efficient management where a steady increase in operational performance has been noticeable.

“Operation wise, the privatization is showing a desirable result as the performance of our port continues to improve. We are heading towards the right direction,” he told reporters here yesterday during a visit to SPTC yesterday.

He said the scale of the expansion would depend on future needs and it would involve increasing the size of the container yard and docking areas.

Pairin who was in his first work visit to the port since taking over the Ministry of Infrastructure Development in May, however regretted that high percentage of empty containers going out from the port has continued.

He said this was due to Sabah still not producing sufficient manufactured product for export.

In the mean time, SPSB Chairman Datuk Karim Bujang explained that Sabah currently exports mainly crude palm oil which does not require the usage of containers.

Sahid added that 70 per cent of the total containers handled that entered through the port last year returned empty and the figure has increased slightly this year.

Other ports around the globe, he noted, were showing similar trend due to global economic slowdown.

Most of the cargos it handles are from Peninsular Malaysia with a small percentage of transit cargos.

By :  Sabah Times

MALAYSIA’S major ports should be able to withstand the onslaught of the global economic crisis, at least for this year.

In fact, many are still projecting growth in volume although business may not be as robust as in previous years.

There are about seven major container ports in the country – Northport and Westports in Port Klang; Penang Port; Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port in Johor; Bintulu Port in Sarawak; and Sapangar Bay Container Port in Sabah.

The harsh impact of the global economic crisis has resulted in declining world trade. However, healthy intra-Asian trade and higher local public spending growth is expected to spur more imported goods and raw materials.

OSK Research, which has lowered the country’s gross domestic product forecast for this year to 1.1% from 2.7%, says the RM7bil economic stimulus plan by the Government should be able to support high public spending this year.

Most analysts say the ports’ stellar performance in past years has boosted their resilience to sail through the choppy waters.

Moreover, they are somewhat “protected” from the economic storm due to their location, particularly those along the Straits of Malacca, the main maritime trade route in Asia.

Ports in east Malaysia are also strategically placed in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

It helps, too, that the ports have a mixed portfolio of handling transhipment as well as exports and imports. Most of the Malaysian ports managed to meet volume targets last year although by the fourth quarter, early signs of a trade decline were evident.

Northport (M) Bhd and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the two terminal operators at the country’s maritime gateway Port Klang, are confident of maintaining volumes this year.

Northport posted slightly more than three million 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) last year, up 5% from 2007. It also expects to continue its RM585mil expansion plan which will be funded with internal funds.

On the other hand, Westports recorded around 16% volume growth in 2008 to slightly under five million TEUs. The positive forecast this year is supported by Westports’ biggest customer, CMA-CGM. Similarly, the global slowdown has not thrown a spanner in the works for Westports’ RM800mil expansion. The port’s container terminal five has been completed, adding a capacity of 1.2 million TEUs to a total of 7.2 million TEUs.

Its executive director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, in his New Year’s message to the staff of Westports, says the company will embark on plans to consolidate its business in terms of processes, staff skills and initiatives given the relatively quieter period.

“Our manpower strength is currently at 3,650, which is sufficient to see us through the expected volume.

“Our next batch of recruits would probably come in during the second quarter of next year,” he said.

The country’s main transhipment port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), expects to break even this year at 5.6 million TEUs.

“The current situation is unprecedented,” says chief executive officer Capt Ismail Hashim, adding that the best and worst-case scenario would see a 15% rise or 10% drop in cargo volume for the year.

Noteworthy is that PTP has experienced a 6% contraction in cargo volume in the final quarter of 2008 against the corresponding period a year earlier.

“But we are keeping our hopes up as our main-line operators, such as Maersk and Evergreen, are anticipating marginal growth this year,” he says. “The non-decline forecast is largely based on our exposure to the still healthy intra-Asian trade.”

Penang Port, according to its chief operating officer Mohd Niana Merican Abd Kadir Merican, expects a flat growth this year given the uncertainties going forward while Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP), managed by Sabah Port Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings Bhd), is not expecting volumes to fall.

Sabah Port also manages seven other ports in Sabah. Suria Capital group managing director Datuk Abu Bakar Abas is optimistic of the outlook for this year due to the Government’s stimulus package to boost economic activity in the country.

By SHARIDAN M. ALI

The growth of cargo in Malaysian ports for the first six month this year is a very encouraging sign for the port businesses. If the growth continues for the next six month then Malaysian ports would have a very good year and investors would be lining up to snap-up port shares whenever they are available on the market. It is good to see various port shares trading on the KLSE moving upwards and hopefully will be better by the year end.

Ports infrastructures also had remarkable growth – the opening of the Sepangar Bay Container Port, Kota Kinabalu on 1st June 2007, marked a very important step in the development of ports in East Malaysia and particularly in Sabah. After a long break ports in Sabah are beginning to throb again, congratulations to Sabah Ports Sendirian Berhad. When I took a brief visit to the Terminal on 27th June 2007, I saw the container yard was full of containers and I think SPSB may need to reclaim more land for bigger yards!

The deepening of the North Channel in Port Kelang to enable  larger container ships to  enter and exit is another exciting development and hope will be completed soon. In Penang we have the development of the Swettenham Pier, on the Penang Island, into a cruise and leisure terminal intending for the cruise industries which is a booming industry in the Strait of Malacca. Of course, there are also ongoing development activities in PTP, Bintulu and private ports in Peninsular Malaysia.

Port physical growth is encouraging for the future of our economic well being, but we shall not forget  another equally important area that  needs growth – the port human resouces. As major ports in Malaysia grow ahead and  port regulators are  also expanding in order to cope with new areas of responsibilities, personnel with experience and know-how are slowly leaving the ports and pensioning off from port regulators. New personnel are recruited to replace those that left.  The arrival of new personnel which is fresh from universities and colleges and without the in-depth knowledge and experience of those that left have begun to create a vacuum in the ports. Many port regulators are  faced with this dilemma and urgent training of these young and fresh intakes are required in order to get trained and knowledgeable personnel. APA Malaysia had identified many courses that will be held and suitable trainers are being identified and methodologies discussed. I certainly hope that more young officers could be trained jointly by APA Malaysia instead of individually by one port . This is where APA Malaysia could be very useful in conducting joint training for all.

New and interesting ideas are being pushed – such as the Trans-Peninsular Pipeline project from Pulau Bunting, Yan, Kedah to Bachok, Kelantan to transfer oil from Strait of Malacca to South Chine Sea without passing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore – the world’s most congested international waterways. Whether this will materialised and be a reality, time will tell. If it become a reality, then Malaysia will have two additional ports to manage. It will be very challenging for young port officers who will be entrusted to run and manage new ports of the future. What we have to do now is train as many as possible to enable them to take the challenge and manage future ports in Malaysia and the world!

Regards,

Abdul Rahim bin Akob

President,

APA Malaysia.

On the 21^st May 2007, Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) was graced with the visit of the federal Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.

Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy was briefed by Suria Capital Holdings Berhad’ Group Managing Director, Datuk Hj. Abu Bakar Hj. Abas on the current progress of the states newly built container port. It was announced that SBCP was ready for operation on 1^st June 2007 and shifting of the containerization activity from KK port to Sapangar would commence on the mentioned date.

Among the issues that were highlighted in the briefing was the impressive development of the ports in Sabah, in particular Kota Kinabalu port, which had grown in terms of container throughput.

An increase of almost 8.5% was recorded in KK Port from a total of 141 969 teus (in 2005) to 153 793 teus (in 2006) and for the first quarter of 2007, a growth of 20% container throughput was achieved.

In addition, the container rate productivity had significantly increased to 18 boxes an hour and is expected to reach 20 – 22 boxes per hour upon the operation of SBCP. Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy hailed these improvements as phenomenal and cited the crucial role of crane productivity in terms of faster turnaround time which will attract vessels to SBCP.

Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy had also mentioned on the need of the ports in East Malaysia to grow and take advantage of the opportunities in the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP EAGA) and for East Malaysian ports to complement each other in this respect.

Among the officials that were in attendance was Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister cum Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Edward Khoo, Sabah Ports Authority (SPA) Chairman, Datuk Dr Zaki Gusmiah and SPSB Board of Directors and officials.

Panstar V. PS001S’s maiden voyage to Kota Kinabalu Port on 28^th March 2006 was well receive by Sabah Ports Sdn. Bhd. (SPSB). This was the first direct call by a container vessel from the Far East to Sabah which marked the beginning of another milestone in the shipping fraternity that augurs well for Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd and Sabah as a whole.

The vessel which sails direct from Hong Kong will be servicing weekly calls to Kota Kinabalu thus facilitating the company, DMM Shipping Agency to foster Kota Kinabalu as the hub for containers bound for other regions of Sabah, This fits very well into SPSB’s plans of making Kota Kinabalu Port at present, and later Sapangar Bay Container Port, the shipping and transshipment hub of BIMP-EAGA and the region.

Sapangar  Bay Container Port, being built a cost of about RM400 million is scheduled to be operational in the first quarter of 2007. By then the container at Kota Kinabalu Port would be moved to Sapangar, leaving behind the non-container operations.

Sapangar Bay Container Port would have a 500 meters jetty with 12 meters depth alongside and two inner berths of 200 meters each. On shore facilities include a 15-hectare container yard and CFS, equipment. The annual throughput capacity is expected at 350,000 TEUs per annum.

By: Sabah Ports Sdn. Bhd.