Malaysia’s top ports to boost capacity to support trade growth, says Wee
01 Mar 2022
Malaysia’s top two ports, Port Klang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor, will boost their capacity in line with trade growth, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said.
He said Port Klang would increase its capacity by 60% to 32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually by 2040, while the PTP would have its current capacity increased by 3.5 million TEUs by 2025.
Wee said this is to support the growth recorded by Malaysian ports, which registered an average trade growth of 3% in compounded cargo throughput over the last decade.
“In 2020, global volumes fell less dramatically than expected and the industry was seeing a rebound by the end of the same year.
“Port Klang, for example, recorded a smaller-than-anticipated decline of 2.5% in container throughput to 13.2 million TEUs, but in 2021, volume rebounded by 3.6% to a record 13.7 million TEUs, the best performance to date since container operations began in 1973,” he said in his keynote address at the 19th ASEAN Ports and Shipping Exhibition and Conference 2022 here on Tuesday (March 1).
Wee also said that the PTP in Johor also performed magnificently with a 14% increase in volume to achieve a record throughput of 11.2 million TEUs last year.
Meanwhile, he noted that technology had spurred the rise of online commerce, transforming consumer shopping habits and spending patterns all over the world, including Malaysia.
According to him, the growth in online trade has increased demand for distribution and warehousing facilities that are digitally enabled and offer value-added services.
In response, initiatives such as the Digital Free Trade Zone, which targets to intensify export and import via e-commerce, would further drive growth, he said.
Other than that, he noted that the government had taken cognisance of the risks of climate change and introduced many green initiatives for the various sectors of the economy, including the maritime sector.
Malaysia as a flag state, port state and coastal state has ratified 26 of the 58 International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions to ensure safe and secure shipping with protection of the marine environment being a major priority.
“In line with our target under the 12th Malaysia Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, Malaysia is also participating in the IMO’s GreenVoyage2050 Project to help developing countries meet their commitments to achieving climate change and energy efficiency goals by bringing about radical changes to shipping operations and ship engine designs for energy efficiency,” he said.
The Malaysian maritime industry contributes about 40% of the country’s GDP and more than 90% of Malaysia’s trade is seaborne.
Source: Bernama
