|
Road
Builder (M) Holdings Bhd plans to
focus port development and transport
infrastructure construction projects
to strengthen the company’s
product base.
The
public listed company, which has
already completed approximately
RM775 million worth of port and
transport infrastructure projects in
the last four years, is now eyeing
regional and international markets.
According
to the joint managing director of
Road Builder, Datuk Shamsudin
Bin Md Dubi company’s expertise in
handling mega infrastructure and
port projects has given it greater
confidence to seek market overseas.
“We
now have contracts worth RM2 billion
in our order book. Almost 60 per
cent of the project in hand
constitute transport infrastructure
projects,” Shamsudin told NST in
Kuantan recently.
“We
have fairly good experience in
developing a port. For instance in
the case of Kuantan port we dredged
80 ha site to create an inner harbor
basin capable of accommodating four
kilometers of berth. We have
completed one petrochemical berth
and are developing one chemical and
a container berth at Kuantan Port.
Besides these another nine more
berths are on the drawing block for
us to developed within the next
30-year concession period,"
said Shamsudin
Road
Builder is major stakeholder in
Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd, the
concessionaire operator of Kuantan
port facilities and services.
“Our
commitment to port infrastructure
business has been growing with the
increasing stake acquired in our
existing port operation portfolio.
We only owned 40 per cent stake in
Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd (KPC)
in 1998 but we have further acquired
an additional 20 per cent stake
recently to play greater role in
positioning Kuantan Port as the
leading maritime trade and logistics
service center in the East coast of
Peninsular Malaysia and the
Asia-Pacific region," said
Shamsudin.
He
said the profit contribution from
port sector for Road Builders
increased from RM6 million in 1999
to RM8 million in 2000 and to RM11
million last year.
“We
are in discussion with the other
consortium members of Kuantan Port
namely Pasdec Bhd (25 per cent
stake) and Damanjaya Sdn Bhd (15 per
cent) to raise our portfolio in port
operation,” said Shamsudin, who is
also the executive vice chairman of
KPC.
Road
Builder group is also expected to
benefit from the privatisation of
the East Wharf and Liquid Chemical
Berth of Kemaman Port to Konsortium
Pelabuhan Kemaman Sdn Bhd.
“We
are looking into the details of the
proposal and will be finalizing soon
with other parties,” he added.
Road
Builder will be the second biggest
shareholder of consortium identified
to take over the deepwater port,
which is now managed by Kuantan Port
Authority.
Eastern
Pacific Industrial Corporation will
be holding 39 per cent stake and the
remaining by the Terengganu State
Government and other few operators.
Shamsudin
noted that when the consortium led
by Road Builder took over the port
operation of Kuantan Port, the port
handled approximately 5.5 million in
1997.
“After
four years, we managed to transform
Kuantan Port as the petrochemical
hub port of the eastern corridor.
Kuantan Port handled 7.5 million
tones last year,” Shamsuddin said.
“Despite
the regional financial crisis hit
the region when we take over the
port operation in 1997 we managed to
post some 36 per cent growth over
the last four years,” he noted.
Container
traffic has grown by almost 50 per
cent over the last four years from
51,000 TEUs to 76,339 TEUs in 2001.
Realising
the huge potential for box traffic
at the port, the KPC is now
developing a dedicated container
handling facility at Kuantan Port.
The
first 200 metres of the terminal
will be ready for commercial
operation by middle of this year
while the next 150-metre terminal
will be ready for operation by end
of this year and provide a handling
300,000 TEUs per annum.
By
the middle of this year the existing
container terminal will be converted
for general cargo operation and will
extend the present length of the
525-metre thus stretching the
multipurpose berth to a total of 725
meters with the capacity of
generating an annual throughput of
880,000 tonnes.
He
said despite the current development
on general cargo and containerized
traffic, the port would continue to
focus on the development of
additional facilities for liquid
berth.
“In
view of this we are currently
developing a second chemical berth,
which draws 250 metre with 14.4
metres below ACD,” he said.
|
