ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

KLANG: The proposed third port, to complement the existing Northport and Westports, is currently awaiting cabinet approval, Port Klang Authority chairman Datuk Dr Teh Kim Poo said.

Teh said the facility will help accommodate the growing demand.

“The existing North and West ports are capable of catering to port users until 2016. The establishment of a third port will greatly help these two,” he told reporters at the closing ceremony of Port Klang’s golden jubilee celebrations here, on Friday.

Teh said the third port is expected to be built on a private land, unlike its two predecessors, which are located in the land owned by the Port Klang Authority

The Port Klang Development Master Plan, completed in April this year, outlines a new site for port expansion as well as proposals on the redevelopment of its third port, Southpoint.

Northport and Westports are currently the two main ports in Port Klang, ranked among the world’s top 20 ports in the world.

3,000 ground slots will be ready in container terminal by then

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) needs one month to solve the congestion problems at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) as the new decking area with 3,000 ground slots will only be ready by then.

Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang told a press conference that all the port users had agreed to wait till next month for PPSB to solve the congestion problems.

Also present were PPC general manager Noor Ariff Yusoff, PPSB chief operating officer Azlan Hamid, and the Association of Malaysian Hauliers northern region chairman R. Amaippan.

“PPSB has also identified certain key problems to be resolved to hasten the flow of cargo delivery. These entail the opening of all the four entrance gates during meal hours and improving the scanning of container cargo to speed up cargo delivery,” Tan said.

Tan spoke following a meeting with port users including hauliers, exporters, forwarders, and representatives from the transport and international trade and industry ministries.

“When the additional 3,000 ground slots at the new decking area are ready next month, PPSB will open the window frame for cargo delivery back to five days,” she said.

Due to congestion at the NBCT container yard, the window for cargo delivery was shortened to 1½ days three months ago.

Last month, StarBiz reported that 20 container haulage companies in the northern region were losing about RM18mil a month in “opportunity cost” because of the shorter window frame to deliver container cargo for export.

On Saturday, Amaippan advised customers to use Port Klang, and subsequently Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had also called for outside expertise to be brought in to assist PPC and PPPSB.

Tan said Lim should quickly give out land titles to PPC for four plots of land so that they could be used to ease congestion at the NBCT and for use by the Penang International Cruise Terminal (PICT).

“We have submitted applications for the land titles.

“Two plots of land are for use at the NBCT while the other two are for use by PICT,” Tan said.

“One plot of about 26ha has been designated for use as a container yard at the NBCT. This container yard has 4,200 ground slots to accommodate cargo.

“Another plot is for a bridge at the NBCT to facilitate cargo movement from the container yard to the decking area,” she said.

By DAVID TAN

Middle Eastern investors may invest some RM1.5 billion in a petroleum tank farm and halal industrial park in Penang Port.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya yesterday said potential investors have approached PPSB to set up shop in the port area to tap the export potential of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle.

“We are looking at reclaiming some 400 hectares of land to accommodate the proposed tank farm and halal hub.

“We also have plans to house a free commercial zone and free industrial zone within the port area to facilitate the easier movement of goods for investors,” Dr Hilmi told reporters after a Penang Port Commission port consultative committee meeting chaired by PPC chairman Tan Cheng Liang.

The closed-door meeting, which was attended by officials from the finance and transport ministries and the Economic Planning Unit, was also attended by Penang port users.

The proposed area for land reclamation would be south of the Butterworth Port on mainland Penang.

“Since we have received positive indication of the port’s RM350 million request from the federal government to carry out capital dredging works under the 10th Malaysia Plan, we are hoping that the sand from the dredging activities can be used for our land reclamation purposes,” he said.

The north channel dredging of the port, from its current 11.5m depth to 14.5m, was supposed to be carried out between 2010 and 2012 to serve main line operators calling at the port.

However, the government deferred the project in its mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Dr Hilmi noted the tank farm is likely to bring in a RM1 billion investment, while the proposed halal hub will rake in an estimated RM500 million.

“We are looking at potential investors to help us finance this project,” he added, “since we do not want to borrow any funds.

“We have had interest shown by parties from China and the Middle East so far to help us in the funding,” he added.

Several investors – such as those engaged in liquid crystal display production – have stated that they want to be located in an area where shipping of the goods can be seamless.

“Our next step would be to call in all interested parties to map out a detailed plan, before we proceed with obtaining permission from the federal authorities via the finance and transport ministries.”

Dr Hilmi, a former finance ministry parliamentary secretary, gave an assurance that the proposed Penang Port expansion plan would in no way end up like the scandal-hit Port Klang Free Zone project in Selangor.

By: Marina Emmanuel

PENANG: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), the port operator, has invested RM1.1 billion over the last five years to upgrade infrastructures at the port and Container Terminal as part of initiatives to pump-prime the state economy, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Wednesday.

He said the huge investment had indirectly bolstered operations of the port and the terminal, key revenue contributors to the state economy.

Continuous upgrading of infrastructures at the Penang Port and Container Terminal is to provide shipping companies and other port users user-friendly facilities, a crucial element to woo more shipping lines and container vessels to the port and the terminal, he told reporters after a briefing by the port management on Wednesday.

To realise Penang Port’s mission to provide world-class shipping services, Guan Eng said the port’s latest and efficient logistics would be the yardstick to increase the number of merchant ships and containers anchoring at the port.

The Chief Minister also called on the Federal Government to re-start the RM353 million project to deepen the North Channel at Penang Port to facilitate smooth sailing-in of container vessels.

“If the deepening work is not done in compliance with environmental requirements, it will harm plans to turn Penang into a green state,” he said.

He also hoped projects promised for Penang under the current Ninth Malaysia Plan but have not been implemented due to various reasons would be carried forward to the 10th Malaysia Plan. – Bernama