Northport congestion to ease in next 2 weeks

SHAH ALAM – The congestion at the Northport is expected to ease by up to 20% in the next two weeks.

Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman, Datuk Chong Sin Woon said this is following Northport (Malaysia) Bhd’s move to implement several short-, medium- and long term action plans to ensure that the issue would not recur in the future.

In a statement today, he attributed the congestion to the increasing number of vessels arriving at the port, which resulted in more containers being unloaded rather than being uploaded. 

“This problem became more critical with the arrival of containers from hauliers at the same time,” he said.

Chong said since the beginning this month, up to last Wednesday, the number of containers handled at Northport had doubled.

He said the congestion at the container area and port entrance has affected Northport’s productivity rate as well as its container handling operations’ performance.

To address the issue, Northport has implemented several short-term measures, including collaborating with shipping companies as well as feeder vessels to expedite the release of export and transhipment containers and giving priority to ships unloading containers.

Starting from Monday, the port management will also be opening additional routes at the port entrance during peak hours.

In the medium-term, Chong said Northport will increase the capacity and capability of its terminal equipment, widen the road to the port’s entrance and increase its workforce especially during peak hours to ensure uninterrupted operations. 

“As for the long-term plan, Northport will improve the port’s infrastructure and space capacity to cope with the high number of containers as well as enhancing the information technology system’s capability, including the Terminal Operating System,” he said. – Bernama, January 22, 2021