Iskandar Malaysia, the economic zone located in Johor state in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia, in close proximity of Singapore, nurses ambitions to become a key strategic logistics hub in Asia. The zone, promoted by a federal statutory body called the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), is about three times the size of Singapore and, as IRDA representatives like to point out, easily accessible by land, air and sea. The Iskandar zone covers some 15% of the state of Johor.
Logistics is one of the services clusters receiving special focus, the others being education, financial services, healthcare, tourism, etc. In a recent interview with American Journal of Transportation, Ismail Ibrahim, IRDA’s chief executive, said that Iskandar concentrates on two areas in the logistics sector. “Firstly, logistics provides support to the economy of Iskandar. Secondly, if logistics is developed in the right way, it can become a force by itself, capable of driving the economic growth of the region,” Ismail explained. The IRDA’s CEO stressed that Iskandar, because of its geographic location, can easily reach out to the entire region. “Indeed, Iskandar Malaysia does not have to start from zero because it already has the necessary infrastructure, including an airport and three seaports,” he claimed. The four “major pillars” on which Iskandar Malaysia’s logistics strength rests are Senai International Airport – formerly Sultan Ismail International Airport –, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) for containerized cargo, Johor Port (a multi-purpose terminal) and the Tanjung Sangsat Port (for liquid bulk cargo and heavy-duty cargo). The Senai International Airport, located near Johor Bahru, is Malaysia’s first-privatized airport which is integrated with the Senai Airport City Development consisting of a free zone promoting activities such as an aerospace park, industrial park, a SME village, hi-tech parks, cargo and logistics park, and a cluster of commercial/residential areas. “We believe that Senai airport can assume a much bigger role. Firstly, it’s positioning itself and focusing on its existing strength. The airport has to work within its eco-system characterized by constraints and capacity. We have seen a lot of inbound traffic which does not always originate from Senai because it doesn’t have direct accessibility … this applies to both cargo and passenger traffic,” Ismail maintained, adding that the airport does not have to be “too ambitious” to reach out to the world.” It can be content with the role of a “regional player”, apparently referring to the over-dominant role played in the region by neighboring Singapore’s Changi International Airport. “Senai and Changi airports are both important hubs which instead of wasting their energies in competing can create synergies by complementing each other,” Ismail said, reminding that Iskandar and, indeed, Malaysia has been working together with Singapore on several projects. A joint Malaysian-Singaporean ministerial committee, consisting of Johor’s chief minister, a federal Malaysian minister and two Singaporean ministers, tackles a number of issues of mutual interest. “Our cooperation with Singapore can serve as a model which can be extended to all the other ASEAN member countries,” Ismail said. Ismail claimed that the Port of Tanjung Pelapas (PTP) has evolved to become Malaysia’s premier container port and the world’s 17th largest transshipment port. With its deep-river location with natural deep drafts and minimal tide difference, PTP can accommodate “vessels of all sizes, including the biggest and latest leviathans”, the IRDA CEO said. The PTP is served by one container terminal. Built over a total area of 1 .8 million square meters, the container yard can handle eight million TEUs per year. It has total storage capacity of 6,237,000 TEUs and total ground slots for 37,800 TEUs. There are 4,161 reefer points and fresh water to the berthed vessel is provided via pipe. The port also offers repair and maintenance facilities. The second Malaysia-Singapore expressway and the north-south highway provide access to major industrial estates. Senai Airport and Singapore’s Changi Airport are close to PTP which is connected by national rail grid that passes through Peninsular Malaysia from Singapore to Southern Thailand. According to IRDA, PTP’s long-term master plan envisages establishing up to 95 berths, making PTP the only port in the region that can provide a terminal-handling capacity of up to 150 million TEUs per annum. Ismail pointed out that PTP’s importance was further enhanced with the creation of the Pelapas Free Zone whose integration with the port terminal allowed “seamless movement of cargo between the terminal and the free zone area, resulting in greater cost savings and better reach”. The PFZ houses a number of global logistics players as well as companies engaged in oil and gas, automotive, food, electronics, pharmaceuticals and other industries. Johor Port, formerly Pasir Gudang Port, was the first port and free trade zone in Johor state for manufacturing and trading activities, with cargo-handling facilities from logistics to warehousing. IRDA representatives claim that Johor Port has one of the world’s largest palm-oil terminals with storage capacity exceeding 500,000 metric tonnes, plus an edible oil jetty and a hazardous cargo jetty, including storage for non-edible cargo. Ismail maintains that more than 20 major shipping liners call at the port every week to serve the Intra-Asia, Gulf, Africa and Australasia regions. A dedicated rail depot inside the Port facilitates cargo transfers. Tanjung Langsat Port, designed to complement the PTP and Johor Port, has evolved to become Southeast Asia’s premier specialty terminal, handling bulk cargo such as petroleum-related cargo and hazardous chemicals. IRDA officials tout the TLP as a “gateway” for the industrial activities at the nearby Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex which is designated to accommodate heavy and medium industries and maritime activities related to petrochemicals, oil and gas industries. TLP, which has five liquid cargo berths and two specialized dry cargo berths, is of strategic importance to the state because it provides access to the international maritime routes for import of raw materials and export of biodiesel-related products.