ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd, the fifth largest dredging company in the world, is set to expand its international footprint, particularly in Africa, Europe and South America.

The company is currently negotiating with several potential clients, particularly in Brazil and Argentina, said Inai Kiara general manager for business development, Zulkefli Majid.

“We have to really support and build more vessels to strengthen our capacity in order to penetrate the European, African and South American markets,” he said recently.

Inai Kiara already has a presence in Brunei, India, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam. In its five-year plan, the company aims to build a super jumbo trailing suction hopper dredger with 64,000 cubic metre capacity.

It also plans to build a similar capacity dredger as the RM1.2 billion Inai Kenanga, the company’s third vessel that was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week.

Inai Kenanga, which is Asia’s largest and the world’s third biggest dredger, is a type of vessel that has full sailing capacity and is used to maintain navigation channels or deepen silted maritime canals.

The construction of the dredger began in mid-2010 with the keel laying ceremony at Inai Kiara’s shipyard, operated by its unit Selat Melaka Shipbuilding Corp Sdn Bhd, in Pulau Indah, Port Klang.

It has the capacity to carry 33,335 cu m of dredged material in its hopper.

Established in 1997, Inai Kiara is involved in dredging reclamation and marine-related industry and started to build its own dredging vessel in 2010.

In 2004, it was awarded a 15-year concession by the government to manage and maintain all the ports in the country.

The company is currently focusing on the construction of a new 4.7km long breakwater project in Kuantan.

Inai Kiara has an authorised capital of RM250 million, of which RM158 million is paid-up.  Bernama

The maritime sector is expected to achieve up to RM19 billion profit and provide over 55,000 jobs in 2020, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.

Najib said he was confident that the industry would thrust Malaysia as a nation that has the capabilities not only in the petroleum automotive industry but also venture into building high technology ships.

“The construction of the dredger “Inai Kenanga” can be classified as a high-impact project,” he said at the launch of the biggest ship in Asia and third largest in the world, here.

The close to RM1 billion Inai Kenanga was built by Selat Melaka Shipbuilding Corporation Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd.

The dredger has a market price of RM1.2 billion.

Najib said the ship was built in tandem with the Economic Transformation Plan and an entry point project as it provided a big impact to the country’s economy particularly in realising government efforts to transform the country into an advanced nation.

The prime minister said the government was constantly finding, identifying and developing sectors with good potential.

“The maritime sector, especially involving shipbuilding and ship maintenance work, is one of the industries accorded priority by the government,” he said.

Najib said big and efficient ports in and outside the country really needed dredgers of this size.

According to an appendix published by MIGHT — Maritime Industry Report 2013 — the government projected that shipbuilding and ship repair would rake in more than RM7 billion. BERNAMA