Hub for investment growth | The Star

KUANTAN: Expansion and development planning for Kuantan Port is vital to ensure it is ready for the upcoming land bridge of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

He said Kuantan city was very important in the east coast as business and industrial activities were located here.

“Once the ECRL is completed, it will form a land bridge connecting Port Klang to Kuantan Port.

“With Kuantan itself facing the South China Sea, this is a very important window if we want to shorten the travel time to South Korea, Japan and China.

There will be no need to go through the Straits of Melaka and around the peninsula,” he said after his visit to Kuantan Port yesterday.

Dr Wee said cargo handling at the port had shown encouraging growth before the pandemic although it dropped by 16.2% with 22.9 million tonnes handled last year.

“This is compared to 2020 which had 27.3 million tonnes in cargo handled.

“But when we look at the growth in 2019, it showed an increment of 4.5%.

“There is high potential here and seeing the growth, it will surely require strategic planning,” he said.

Dr Wee said phase two of the plan was a 1km deep water terminal expansion, followed by phase three, which would be a reclamation process bringing the port’s total capacity up to 90 million tonnes yearly.

The Kuantan Port Consortium and the state government, he said, were attracting potential investors to the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) and if this was finalised in the near future, there would be a need for these expansions.

“These investments will bring about a high amount in the import and export of raw materials and completed products.

“That is why we have to prepare now.

“I have also been informed that the state government has a special development plan for Gebeng where the MCKIP and its surrounding areas will be connected to the port.

“It will surely have a high impact for locals,” he added.

Asked if there was any plan to bring in cruise liners to Kuantan Port, Dr Wee said the focus was on the main activity of the port besides other factors to consider such as the east coast’s exposure to the monsoon.

During his visit, Dr Wee also launched Kuantan Port’s 2021-2030 green policy.

He said among other initiatives, the port was already using hybrid rubber tyred gantry cranes and also controlling the number of vehicles entering the port to reduce the impact on the environment.

“I also noticed Alliance Steel’s conveyor belt system which will do away with the use of heavy lorries to transport materials. This is efficient and will also reduce the carbon footprint,” he said.