KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 — Northport (Malaysia) Bhd, the port operating unit of NCB Holdings Bhd, may spend RM200 million to expand its break and dry bulk handling facilities.
The expansion of the facilities towards the North of Wharf 25 is currently at the preliminary stage involving the feasibility study to identify design parameters by a consultant engineering firm.
“The study has been concluded and under evaluation by a technical team,” Chief Executive Officer Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid told Bernama.
On the progress of Wharf 8A conversion, Abi Sofian said that it was progressing well and was expected to be fully operational by next month.
Northport would handle 5.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) once Wharf 8A construction was completed, he said.
Wharf 8A forms part of the Container Terminal 4 at Northport involving an investment of nearly RM350 million.
It will be able to berth vessels with deeper draft of up to 17 metres which in turn will improve connectivity.
In another development, Abi Sofian said Northport was slightly below target in handling 3.4 million TEUs of containers this year compared with 3.09 million TEUs last year due to several external factors.
The factors include recent typhoon in some parts of China, labour strike at Hong Kong Port, reshuffling of shipping services by shipping lines, lower Port Klang space allocation due to heavy load from other regional hub ports and China’s cooling economy. — Bernama
