Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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SHAH ALAM (July 10): The Selangor state government says today that Port Klang, the country's largest port, is ideal for the development of the second Digital Free Trade Zone, which could boost the port's ranking to become the 10th largest container port in the world.

It is now the 12th largest container port in the world and the second largest in Southeast Asia after Singapore.

Selangor senior executive councillor Datuk Teng Chang Khim said no other place in Malaysia is as suitable as Port Klang to house the next DFTZ, and that having a DFTZ in Port Klang will increase the cargo the port handles, improve handling, and attract more investments and logistics players there. In 2017, Port Klang handled 11.98 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) containers.

"This is our vision, (to have Port Klang) as the next DFTZ after the first DFTZ in KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport), Sepang, took off.

"If the private sector shares the same vision with us, they can come out with the proposal. There is no reason why we are not going to pick up (the proposal) if it is workable and suitable," Teng told reporters on the sidelines of an investment forum on logistics industry entitled 'Deeping Logistics Supply Chain in Selangor', here.

"Our short-term target is to become the Top 10 largest seaport in the world," he added.

Teng was commenting on news that investors were in talks with the Malaysian government to further develop Port Klang and Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah as an e-commerce hub, according to a report quoting the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation.

"It is open to everyone. We believe in the open market, so we welcome everyone as we work hard to attract FDI (foreign direct investment) into the country," he said, adding no proposal has been received so far on the e-hub.

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