| THE Gemas-Johor
railway project may not kick
off in the Ninth Malaysia Plan
(9MP) as the focus is on people-centric
developments as announced in
the 2009 Budget.
Transport Minister
Datuk Ong Tee Keat said the
project is still in the "infant
stage" of planning, but
did not elaborate.
He was speaking
to Business Times during an
official visit to Westports
in Port Klang yesterday.
Business Times
had reported that tenders for
the RM8 billion project to lay
new rail tracks from Gemas to
Johor Baru may be called after
the Mid-Term Review of the 9MP,
that is, by the end of this
year.
At a press
conference later, Ong told reporters
that it is a necessity for port
operators to enhance the branding
of their respective ports and
also Malaysia to spearhead operation
growth.
He said there
should be improvement in cargo
volume and efficiency of government
apparatus at the ports from
customs clearance to functioning
of port authorities.
Port Klang's
container volume is expected
to hit eight million TEUs (20-foot
equivalent units) this year,
compared with seven million
in 2007 and three million in
2000.
By 2012 it
expects to handle 12 million
TEUs, driven by promotional
works carried out by the Port
Klang Authority (PKA) and Westports
Malaysia Sdn Bhd to woo more
shipping lines including feeder
lines.
"We need
to synergise our efforts with
the various authorities. There
is ample room for further improvement.
Industry players need to be
creative and innovative,"
he said.
Meanwhile,
Westports executive director
Ruben Emir Gnanalingam told
Business Times that it may call
for a tender to build the RM60
million multi-purpose berth
closer to the Port Klang Free
Zone (PKFZ) by the end of this
year or early next year.
Ruben said
the matter is still in discussions
with PKA, the manager and marketer
of PKFZ, to build the 300-metre
berth to increase productivity
and occupancy rate at the free
zone area.
He said it
would support existing tenants
at PKFZ like Norwegian oil and
gas industry equipment maker
Aker Kvaerner, which requires
a special berth to roll out
the completed oil rigs it makes.
Companies likely
to put in a proposal for the
berth are Putrajaya Perdana
Bhd and Muhibbah Engineering
(M) Bhd.
Ruben also
said Westports is buying four
twin lift cranes for RM120 million
in 2009.
"We will
buy more cranes as we expand
our current berth line of 3.2km
to 3.8km in the next two years
due to surging demand and growth
in global container volume,"
he said.
By Sharen
Kaur
The NST, 02.09.2008
|
