Posted on 07 Jul 2014
The Port Klang Authority (PKA) is confident of breaking into
the Top 10 list of the world’s busiest ports in two years’ time, driven by the
expansion of both its terminal operators and, surprisingly, the support of the
controversial Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) that has taken off quite well.
PKA is a statutory corporation established in 1963 to take
over the administration of Port Klang from the Malayan Railway Administration.
It is also the owner of the RM12.5bil PKFZ.
Port Klang is currently ranked 12th on the world’s busiest
ports list based on last year’s volume of 10.3 million twenty-foot equivalent
units (TEUs), which was a 3.5% increase over 2012.
Out of this total, Westports handled 7.5 million TEUs while
Northport’s volume stood at 2.9 million TEUs.
PKA general manager Datuk David Padman said Northport and
Westports were undertaking capacity expansion at the moment with extra quay
length that will attract more ships to berth in a couple of years’.
“We project Port Klang’s volume to increase to 10.8 million
TEUs this year and 11.7 million TEUs in 2015. I believe Port Klang will manage
to break into the Top 10 list of the world’s busiest ports in 2016.
“However, what I would like to stress is that PKFZ has
really taken off, as it has recently been fully taken up and is slowly building
itself up as a catalyst to Port Klang’s growth. “About 95% of the 1,000-acre
area has been leased to reputable companies. Just recently, we broke into the
polymer market with two anchor tenants from the Middle East and Singapore,”
Padman told StarBiz.
Despite the controversial court case over the land
acquisition deal, Padman did not agree that PKFZ is a white elephant
operationally.
PKFZ is an ambitious regional industrial park that offers
extensive distribution and manufacturing facilities. It began operations in
2006 with an occupancy rate of less than 30%.
“We are seeing a slow-and-steady contribution from PKFZ
towards the volume of Port Klang. It could involve a longer gestation period
for PKFZ to really make significant volume impact on Port Klang, but I can
assure you that the prospects are huge.
“The prospects of PKFZ are slowly coming to fruition, as we
have good multinationals with long-term leases that span from five to 30 years.
We have no more land to offer and the remaining 5% is only light industrial
units,” he said.
Some of the anchor tenants of PKFZ are Aker Solutions with
an RM550mil investment, Cargill Palm Products with RM380mil in investments, and
Petroleum Equipment and Supplies Sdn Bhd with RM90mil in investments.
It is also expecting new tenants such as Bright Series with
RM230mil in investments and Syarikat Logistik Petikemas that will put RM16.6mil
into PKFZ.
Another pressing issue, according to Padman, is the
infrastructure, especially road upgrades that are needed to accommodate the
growth of the terminals.
“Now that the uncertainty over the P3 alliance has fizzled
out, Port Klang is poised for growth. The chart to grow is also clearer now
after we lost some volume over the crumbling of STX Pan Ocean and MISC’s
container business,” he said.
The formation of the global shipping P3 alliance comprising
Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co and CMA CGM – Europe’s three biggest
shipping companies that collectively control close to 50% of the Asia-Europe
shipping trade – was supposed to marginally reduce the number of calls by CMA
CGM on Westports.
Padman said he would highlight the pressing matter of the
infrastructure leading to both Westports and Northport to the new Transport
Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai soon.
