|
Halal Hub Group has called tender
from interested investment banks and finance
companies to fund the RM5 billion halal hub
development programme.
“The fund will be utilized for the development
of halal hub centre and will realize the vision
of the government to make Malaysia a global
halal hub,’ said the official from the Halal Hub
group.
The tender notice by group identified three
areas where the fund will be channeled.
The group has indicated that it will be
developing 809 hectares (2,000 acres) of land
for the halal industry.
The proposed halal industry complex will
encompass halal industries, halal logistics
companies, warehousing companies and Islamic
financing centre.
Second, the group proposed to design and
construct halal hub complex throughout the
country and in selected OIC and Islamic
countries.
The complexes will become the trading centre for
the halal products.
The group also plans to take over some
hypermarkets in the country and upgrade the
status to halal distribution hubs.
Meanwhile, Northport, as a leading gateway port
of Malaysia, is all set to become the first
“on-dock” fully-certified facility in the
logistics and transport chain in making Malaysia
the Global Halal Hub.
“We are working very closely with the Halal
Development Corporation (HDC) and Jabatan
Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) on this matter.
We have had meetings with relevant agencies and
are looking into the details on the testing,
inspection, auditing and certification of
products, commodities and systems in our
distripark,” said the Northport’s Halal
Committee Chairman, Abi Sofian bin Abdul Hamid.
“The agencies involved in the discussions are
very supportive of the initiatives taken by
Northport and they are keen to work with us to
ensure that the halal trade via the port meets
the stringent requirements and highest of
standards,” said Abi Sofian.
“We are treating the prospects and opportunities
in the Halal trade as more than just a niche
market and towards this end we provide an
extensive range of facilities and services at
our distripark within Customs-free Free
Commercial Zone to allow value-adding
activities. The Halal trade in Northport is
treated as a mainstream activity, and not a
peripheral one,” stressed Abi.
Northport has taken special efforts to further
expand the facilities and services at the
distripark including by extending the scope for
testing and certification of halal products
under our master plan.
“We also intend to meet specific requirements of
logistics operators; especially those engaging
in cargo consolidation services,” said Abi.
“This is a positive development as a growth
driver in Northport’s expansion and we hope we
can help raise the standards and develop best
industry practices in the global distribution,
transport and logistics supply chain in the
“Halal” trade,” where the role of port is
critical in the efficiency of the delivery
system,” he added.
|
