INTEGRATED MARINE WORKS Sdn Bhd (IMW), the first Malaysian company to be a pioneer of the dredging and reclamation industry, has secured a new concession agreement with the government of Malaysia for dredging and reclamation works for all federal ports nationwide. 

IMW was established as a design and build contractor specialising in dredging and reclamation. It is ranked in the top 10 dredging companies in the world. It has also successfully completed dredging and reclamation-related projects overseas, including Taiwan, India, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

On May 30, 2022, IMW inked a concession agreement with the government of Malaysia and the respective port authorities/commission. Pursuant to the agreement, the government — via the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and port authorities/commission — once again gave IMW the mandate to carry out maintenance, capital dredging and reclamation works at federal ports across the country for a period of 15 years.

“There is an increase in the scope of work in this new agreement, whereby IMW will conduct reclamation works for large-scale development at federal ports such as Port Klang, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Penang Port and Bintulu port,” says IMW.

Previously, the company was appointed as a concessionaire for the dredging works at federal ports from 2004 to 2019. During the 15-year period, IMW had an excellent track record, illustrated by 247 projects successfully completed in a timely manner as well as in accordance with the guidelines and specification set by MoT.

“As a leader in the country’s dredging and reclamation industry, equipped with more than 20 years of experience as well as experience of maintaining all local ports in [the previous] concession agreement, we are confident that with our technical knowledge, fleet of dredging ships and auxiliary machinery, as well as the expertise of our workforce, we will be able to carry out the mandate given by the government for the next 15 years,” says IMW executive chairman Quzaim Mohamad Guljar Mohamad.

“IMW is also committed to fulfilling all the terms of the new concession agreement, among others, to increase the capacity of the fleet of high-tech dredgers, which are more efficient and have higher productivity to be more cost effective, with an estimated total investment of not less than RM900 million throughout the new concession.”

Additionally, IMW notes that during the previous concession, it had successfully constructed three dredger ships, namely Inai Ixora, Inai Liatree and Inai Kenanga in its own shipyard in Pulau Indah, Selangor. The dredger was built in accordance with the stringent requirements of Bureau Veritas class being the global leader in ship classification.

“Inai Kenanga is the largest dredger in Asia, with a construction cost of about RM1.2 billion. Inai Kenanga was built using local manpower and expertise, has the capacity to carry 33,335 m3, is capable of reaching a speed of 18.5 knots and has a dredging depth up to 90m,” says Quzaim Mohamad.

IMW says its effort and contribution via the concession agreement are to realise the government’s aspiration of making Malaysia a developed country through the maritime sector.

“Prior to the establishment of IMW, every port in the country depended entirely on foreign contractors. However, IMW has succeeded in taking over the role as a local dredging and reclamation contractor without fully depending on foreign contractors. IMW shall continue to create high-income opportunities and upskilling of Malaysians. About 90% of the work is carried out by locals,” says Quzaim Mohamad.

Elaborating further, IMW says that beyond the creation of employment opportunities in the maritime industry, the company has trained its workforce to be innovative in the dredging and engineering industry.

“Since its inception, IMW has trained more than 5,000 workers to become experts in the dredging industry and innovative engineers in the maritime and oil and gas sector. HSE is a core part of IMW’s operating procedures and has a proven high standard of safety in all our projects,” the company adds.