Cargo Handling Capacity To Grow By Over 7.5 Pct This Year -- Transport Minister

SHAH ALAM (Selangor, Malaysia) Dec 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's cargo handling capacity is expected to grow by over 7.5 per cent this year from 22.67 million twenty-foot equivalent units recorded in 2014, said Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai. He said the target would be driven by enhancing the collaborations between Malaysia and China, including the sister-port initiatives. "Port Klang Authority has had sister-port relationships with the Port of Ningbo and Dalian, and with the revival of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative, they have embarked on establishing sister-port relationships with eight more Chinese ports -- Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Beibu, Taicang, Shenzhen and Hainan. "It is my wish that the 16 ports in Malaysia will follow up the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with appropriate plans of action to implement the various aspects of the MOU and to benefit from the MSR," he said at the Forum on 'Enhancing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through Malaysia' here Tuesday. Currently, he said, the Chinese companies had invested in maritime industrial areas in Port Klang and Kuantan, jointly undertaken the development of a deep sea terminal with Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd. "Other partnerships have resulted in the proposed development of the Melaka gateway deep sea port and maritime industrial park. Beside Peninsular Malaysia, Lai also encouraged Chinese companies to look at Sabah and Sarawak in terms of further development of existing ports and maritime industrial parks. -- BERNAMA