Major shipping lines like Maersk Line, Evergreen line and MISC line have switched their regional hubs to the port from Singapore, Ong said in his opening speech at the World Air Cargo Organization (WACO) International Conference here Monday.
Last year, the port handled 5.6 million TEUs with 97 per cent of them being transshipment cargo, he said.
"Besides air and sea, Malaysia is also increasingly important in terms of land bridge cargo where cargo can go from Malaysia by road to most of the neighbouring countries like Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia."
Similarly, rail transportation has also grown in importance and with Malaysia currently investing in its north south double track railway system, this will improve transit lead time for rail cargo as well, Ong added.