“We are not 100% there yet,” Capt K Subramaniam, general manager of Port Klang Authority told Port Strategy. “We have to improve all the time.”
Capt’s Subramaniam’s ‘back to basics’ view is that other ports are catching up with Klang, especially in Indonesia, which he said would be a force to be reckoned with.
Among the issues he flagged were the need for Port Klang to hold on to more of its locally-produced cargo and not see it moved by other ports. This required it and other ports to say on top of dredging needs and dredge deep to 18.5 metres to stop delays.
The other issue was digitisation and the need to press on with it. “I don’t think we are entirely paperless,” he said of Port Klang. Another issue is trade practices which “have to be improved”, he said.
While the 2014 introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) saw Malaysia losing bunkering to Singapore, other concerns include issues such as container deposits and damage claims, as well as surcharges. “These are the areas we need to work on in the next few years,” he told the conference.
