ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

PORT operator Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd and its executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam each walked away with an award this year at the Brand Laureate Awards held in Kuala Lumpur on March 31.

Westports won the award for the Best Brand in Logistics – Ports while Gnanalingam won the award for Brand Personality.

Presented by the Asia-Pacific Brands Foundation, the Brand Personality is equivalent to the Grammy Award for Branding.

The award was presented by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In a statement issued last week, Gnanalingam attributed the two awards to his staff who “have continued to innovate and provided the best services to our customers”.

He said winning the awards was further proof of the port’s capabilities and a testament to its quality of work.

“Westports was founded around innovation and the pursuit of excellence, and those core values have continued to be at the heart of everything we do,” he added.

By: btimes.com.my

NORTHPORT is considering to delay the upgrading of one of its wharfs due to the economic slowdown.

“I understand that Northport is considering holding back the upgrade but whether they should hold it or not is another question,” Port Klang Authority general manager Lim Thean Shiang said during a briefing in Port Klang last Tuesday.

He said certain developments were necessary to cater to continued growth even though there may not be an immediately need for it.

“During recession one can only position oneself to be ready for the up and coming growth cycle, and if we do not have the adequate facilities available, how do we capitalise on such opportunities?” Lim said.

He said Port Klang would monitor the situation and hold consultations with ports on issues involving the development of the ports.

Northport managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Basheer Hassan Abdul Kader was quoted as saying in November last year that it would keep its RM500 million expansion plans on track.

The plan includes the development of a 350m container berth, bringing the container quayline at the port to a total of 3.4km.

By : btimes.com.my

CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping company, expects double-digit growth for its container volume at Westports next year despite the global economic slowdown.

The target is achievable with bigger ships coming into service, said CMA CGM Malaysia managing director Simon Whitelaw.

“We are projecting a double-digit growth for 2009,” he said on the sidelines of Symposium on Ports and Shipping New Developments in Port Klang on Wednesday.

The company, based in France, has registered 2.0 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) as on Tuesday, approaching the 2008 target of 2.1 million TEUs. Last year, it generated a volume of 1.7 million TEUs.

Among CMA CGM’s new bigger ships set to enter Westports are the 11,500-TEU vessels coming this week and the 13,500-TEU vessels in 18 months’ times.

According to Whitelaw, the company sees Malaysia as a big potential as the country has a balanced portfolio with commodities and manufacturing products as well as a steady balance of trade.

He said despite the current global economic turmoil, the company’s operations in China were not badly affected mainly because of its large office network in the country.

CMA CGM is also trying to maintain its freight rate at the right level although the market rate has dropped over the last few months, Whitelaw said. – Bernam

By : btimes.com.my

In June this year, the port community in Port Klang was surprised by the entry of little known Lim Thean Shiang as Port Klang Authority’s general manager.

Coming to a post that has traditionally been reserved for long-serving government employees, Lim was worried of only two things – the acceptance of PKA employees and the port community.

“They (PKA staff) were sceptical of me, because I was from the private sector and therefore had doubtful management skills,” Lim quipped.

He said direct and indirect feedback gathered has been very encouraging.

“I feel that they have taken to my management style. I believe in empowering the staff, have them chair meetings, make decisions… it’s a new culture for them.”

Lim was handpicked by Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat to head Port Klang Authority after the March general elections. The official appointment, how-ever, came two months later on June 6.

He put the two months to good use by visiting both Northport (M) Bhd and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd, as well as meet up with logistics players to get a better understanding of the industry.

The 37-year-old lawyer by training is not daunted by the mammoth task ahead of him though, as he points out that his task is to make sure that plans for Port Klang are on track.

“The plans for Port Klang still remain the same. The way I look at it… what is important is to put Port Klang back on the world map, to promote Port Klang and not the port operators.

“Both port operators must assist Port Klang in promoting us as Port Klang not as Northport or Westports,” Lim said

Besides continuing with the goal of making Port Klang the transshipment hub of the region, Lim plans to set out a 15-year strategic port development plan, which will map out the direction of both port operators in Port Klang and the kind of facilities and technology needed to develop both ports.

“I realise the efficiency of both ports are mainly reliant on the transportation infrastructure, especially the road infrastructure. So, we will put up the proposal to the Ministry of Transport, which will be most likely tabled in the 10th Malaysia Plan, to see how we can link up both ports,” Lim said.

He said the linkage would reduce internal transfer time as well as divert the movement of cargo trucks away from the public road system.

By : Presenna Nambiar