KANGAR, Jan 27 — The development of the Perlis Inland Port (PIP) coupled with Perlis’ position near the Thai border is expected to facilitate increased cross-border trade between Malaysia and Thailand, said the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).
In a statement today, NCER said the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority’s (NCIA) development of the port will directly catalyse the transition of Perlis from an agronomic state to a border state economy and accelerate socio-economic recovery in the northern state.
The PIP is a public-private partnership project that will be the anchor logistic hub for the integrated development in Chuping Valley and cargoes from southern Thailand, further strengthening the Chuping Valley Industrial Area (CVIA), NCER AgriBio Economic Zone (NAEZ), and Chuping Agro Valley (CAV) projects.
“NCIA will develop the external infrastructure (bonded road, railway spur line and flyover) while the development of the port itself will be undertaken by private investors.
“The private investors are planning to develop the PIP in three phases, whereby the first phase will comprise of a rail park (three rail sidings, reach stackers and open yards) and logistic park (pack-houses, warehouses, storages and silos),” said the statement.
It added that the construction of the port will start in February 2022 and full operations will commence by 2024, while the logistics park is expected to handle a total capacity of 250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) once Phase 1 is completed.
“The Perlis state government is working closely with NCIA to expedite the development of this project.
“The PIP is well-positioned to strengthen and further safeguard the competitiveness of Malaysia’s northern trade border in anticipation of other developments in the region,” said Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man after chairing the first State Steering Committee meeting for 2022, here, today.
The Menteri Besar also said the development of the port is expected to place Perlis on the right track towards strong overall growth in 2022.
NCIA chief executive Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John also noted the importance for the NCER to strengthen its border town logistics infrastructure and complementing services.
“The development of the PIP and the upgrading of Penang Port must be carried out as planned to leverage on first-mover advantage,” he said.
According to the statement, the CVIA, which is also strategically located near the Thai border, will leverage the regional cooperation of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and boost the development of the area with various commercial activities that are innovation-based, knowledge-intensive investments within the high-growth and high-value sectors.
“To date, with the industry ecosystem development and integration already in place in CVIA, more than RM2.5 billion in committed investments have been achieved and 1,870 job opportunities created.
“A further RM449 million in investments and 850 jobs are in the pipeline from domestic and foreign innovation-based and knowledge-intensive anchor investors,” said NCER.
The construction of CVIA’s Phase 1 development is on track with 100 per cent sectional completion targeted by October 2022, it added. — Bernama
