Malaysia urged to ease container congestion in Penang

THE Penang government in Malaysia has demanded that Transport Minister Seri Kong Cho Ha find a solution to the container congestion at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT).

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng called on Mr Kong to "intervene and appoint expert advisers" to the Penang Port Commission (PPC) and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to examine the problem.

But the port authority disagreed. "The congestion is caused by the increase of containers at the terminal - 27.3 per cent more for the first half of 2010 compared with the same period last year," said PPC chairman Tan Cheng Liang.

But the Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) northern region chairman R Amaiappan advised customers in the northern region to send their export container cargo to Port Klang so that PPSB can resolve the congestion problem at the NBCT whose yards he said were 85 per cent full most of the time.

"Expert assistance from outside should be sought if PPC and PPSB are unable to resolve the container cargo congestion problems swiftly," said Mr Lim.

Last month, it was reported that 20 container haulage companies in the northern region were losing about MYR18 million (US$5.63 million) a month in "opportunity losses" because of the smaller window to deliver container cargo for export.

Mr Lim claimed the congestion stems from the port's inability to comply with standard operating guidelines that the other ports in the country follow, resulting in logistics services not being up to standard.

"Too much money has been invested to continue ignoring the problem," he said, adding that experts such as former PPC chairman Syed Aidid Murtaza could help resolve the congestion problem.
(Source:www.schednet.com)