Johor's shippers have urged port owners to reconsider plans that include the transfer of all container operations in Johor port to the neighbouring Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP).
The appeal made to MMC Corp Bhd, which owns 100% of Johor port and 70% of PTP, comes primarily from shippers in Pasir Gudang, Johor, as they will be most directly affected by the proposed move.
“The ports must practise dialogue and transparency with the stakeholders and provide assurance of holistic approach in such a rationalization exercise, including all aspects of cost and operation effectiveness,” Malaysian National Shipper's Council (MNSC) vice-chairman Mohamad Radwan Alami told Malaysia's Business Times.
“Therefore we the shippers who are the primary stakeholders should not be penalized with additional costs especially through port tariffs and container haulage,” he said.
MMC group chief executive Feizal Ali recently announced plans to move all container traffic through PTP and make Johor port a dedicated port for handling bulk traffic.
A task force with representatives from PTP, Johor port and MMC has been set up to discuss the rationalization and its conclusions expected in three months.
Pasir Gudang shippers said their two primary concerns are that the move will lead to increased haulage costs and to delays in delivery of container cargo to the ports.
“Most of these industries have been around for a long time. They had chosen to locate their facility in Pasir Gudang due to its access to Johor port. As such, asking them to uproot themselves from Pasir Gudang would not be easy,” said Radwan.
PTP is about 80km away from Johor port by road and shippers from Pasir Gudang will have to move their cargo about 60-80km via road to PTP.
According to Radwan, transporting container cargo from Pasir Gudang to PTP is not feasible due to high haulage costs. Shippers in Pasir Gudang have estimated that the cost to haul cargo to the port will double if they are required to ship through PTP.
“So if we have to ship our containers out through PTP, we hope it would be at costs not higher than what we are currently paying at Johor port,” said Radwan.
Another concern is the heavy congestion on the road between Johor port and PTP, although Radwan pointed out that a direct rail system would alleviate delays in delivery of container cargo to the port.
MNSC has submitted a letter to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry expressing the shippers' concerns.
The appeal made to MMC Corp Bhd, which owns 100% of Johor port and 70% of PTP, comes primarily from shippers in Pasir Gudang, Johor, as they will be most directly affected by the proposed move.
“The ports must practise dialogue and transparency with the stakeholders and provide assurance of holistic approach in such a rationalization exercise, including all aspects of cost and operation effectiveness,” Malaysian National Shipper's Council (MNSC) vice-chairman Mohamad Radwan Alami told Malaysia's Business Times.
“Therefore we the shippers who are the primary stakeholders should not be penalized with additional costs especially through port tariffs and container haulage,” he said.
MMC group chief executive Feizal Ali recently announced plans to move all container traffic through PTP and make Johor port a dedicated port for handling bulk traffic.
A task force with representatives from PTP, Johor port and MMC has been set up to discuss the rationalization and its conclusions expected in three months.
Pasir Gudang shippers said their two primary concerns are that the move will lead to increased haulage costs and to delays in delivery of container cargo to the ports.
“Most of these industries have been around for a long time. They had chosen to locate their facility in Pasir Gudang due to its access to Johor port. As such, asking them to uproot themselves from Pasir Gudang would not be easy,” said Radwan.
PTP is about 80km away from Johor port by road and shippers from Pasir Gudang will have to move their cargo about 60-80km via road to PTP.
According to Radwan, transporting container cargo from Pasir Gudang to PTP is not feasible due to high haulage costs. Shippers in Pasir Gudang have estimated that the cost to haul cargo to the port will double if they are required to ship through PTP.
“So if we have to ship our containers out through PTP, we hope it would be at costs not higher than what we are currently paying at Johor port,” said Radwan.
Another concern is the heavy congestion on the road between Johor port and PTP, although Radwan pointed out that a direct rail system would alleviate delays in delivery of container cargo to the port.
MNSC has submitted a letter to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry expressing the shippers' concerns.