The Ministry of Transport is taking efforts to further strengthen Port Klang’s role as a major goods delivery hub in the region, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
He said the meeting with four of the world’s leading shipping companies namely MSC, Maersk, CMA-CGM, and Hapag Lloyd through a week-long working visit in Europe recently was one of the government’s efforts to strengthen the role of the country’s main port. “The purpose of this meeting is to attract their interest so as not only to increase their investment but also their presence in Malaysia. It yielded interesting results and I am confident that, in the next few years, they will have a greater presence in Malaysia, especially in Port Klang, as well as in Tanjung Pelepas Port in Johor he said.
“We have a plan to further intensify the role of Port Klang as the main goods delivery hub in ASEAN. This of course requires cooperation from all parties so that we can further increase the competitiveness of Port Klang,” he added. In the meantime, Loke said at the national level, the development of Malaysia’s Single Maritime System (MMSW) is actively underway and will be implemented no later than 1 January 2024 in line with the International Maritime Organization’s ruling. He said MMSW is a digital database and data source that will facilitate the flow of information at the fingertips and be an added value to port users, logistics players and government agencies for transportation facilities.
“The one-stop portal is expected to help solve the issue of duplication of the same information to various agencies. “It is able to process international trade activities thus reducing waiting time for cargo release, business costs and increasing competitiveness and efficiency,” he said. Loke said in terms of capacity, LPK plans to increase container handling by 13 million TEU in the next 10 years with the development of Westports 2, consisting of the development of a five-kilometer wharf, which is equipped with the latest facilities.
“For long-term planning, the proposed development of a third port on Carey Island in Kuala Langat will bring an additional capacity of 30 million TEU within 25 years,” he said.
