PENANG: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), the port operator, has invested RM1.1 billion over the last five years to upgrade infrastructures at the port and Container Terminal as part of initiatives to pump-prime the state economy, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Wednesday.
He said the huge investment had indirectly bolstered operations of the port and the terminal, key revenue contributors to the state economy.
Continuous upgrading of infrastructures at the Penang Port and Container Terminal is to provide shipping companies and other port users user-friendly facilities, a crucial element to woo more shipping lines and container vessels to the port and the terminal, he told reporters after a briefing by the port management on Wednesday.
To realise Penang Port’s mission to provide world-class shipping services, Guan Eng said the port’s latest and efficient logistics would be the yardstick to increase the number of merchant ships and containers anchoring at the port.
The Chief Minister also called on the Federal Government to re-start the RM353 million project to deepen the North Channel at Penang Port to facilitate smooth sailing-in of container vessels.
“If the deepening work is not done in compliance with environmental requirements, it will harm plans to turn Penang into a green state,” he said.
He also hoped projects promised for Penang under the current Ninth Malaysia Plan but have not been implemented due to various reasons would be carried forward to the 10th Malaysia Plan. – Bernama
