Port Klang eyes entry into top 10 busiest ports list by 2016

0
492

Northport_Malaysia_WharveTwelfth-place Port Klang in Malaysia is aspiring to leapfrog into the world’s top ten list of busiest ports in 2016, banking on the ongoing improvements by its two terminal operators and the support of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

Operator Port Klang Authority (PKA), which also owns the PKFZ, said the current capacity upgrades at Northport and Westports terminals would entice more ships to call in two years’ time.

Port Klang is currently ranked 12th on the world’s busiest ports list based on last year’s volume of 10.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 3.5% increase over 2012.

Of this, Westports handled 7.5 million TEUs, and Northport’s volume stood at 2.9 million TEUs.

PKA general manager Datuk David Padman told local media outlet StarBiz they estimate Port Klang’s volume to increase to 10.8 million TEUs this year and then to 11.7 million TEUs in 2015 before breaking into the top 10 list of the world’s busiest ports in 2016.

He added that support is also expected to come from the 1,000-acre PKFZ, which began operations in 2006 and is now almost fully occupied by companies and “slowly building itself up as a catalyst to Port Klang’s growth.”

Padman said further that the multinationals that have located at the free zone have long-term leases ranging from five to 30 years.

He continued that he will also look at the pressing matter of infrastructure development, especially roads leading to both terminals, which he plans to take up with new Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

At the same time, he said the port can now move forward following the dismantling of the P3 alliance, which had been seen to reduce slightly the calls of CMA CGM at Westports.

Meanwhile, Liow Tiong Lai stated earlier that the new cabinet will continue to support the development of the PKFZ, particularly the planned establishment of a halal industry center in the area.

He added that the state government realizes the competitive advantages of the PKFZ in attracting more investments from China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other Muslim countries.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons