PETALING JAYA: The cargo congestion in Port Klang is gradually easing following the recent floods that impacted its operations, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The Transport Minister said on a regular day, Port Klang handles 35,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) a day.
During the flood, Dr Wee said only 9,970 TEU were handled, making it a shortfall of 70%.
“It slowly increased to 11,000 and yesterday was about 27,000 TEU that is about 80% from normal. So, this is an indication that the cargo operations are gradually recovering,” he said during a press conference after the inaugural Kuala Lumpur International Logistics and Transport (KiLAT) Excellence Awards ceremony on Tuesday (Dec 21).
The award is the first for the Malaysian Transport Industry jointly organised by the Transport Ministry and EPL Exhibition Sdn Bhd.
Dr Wee said even though Port Klang faced this issue, he was confident that the port’s performance would not just be able to break the record but also to create a new record.
During his speech at the award ceremony, Dr Wee noted that based on the current projection, it is estimated that about 13.8 million TEU container throughput would be recorded for the year 2021 compared to last year’s record of 13.24 million TEU for Port Klang.
With the floods impacting various states, Dr Wee said that agencies under the ministry have been on the ground to assist the public where they have opened shelters in relevant areas and have provided various aid.
On insurance policy for cars damaged by the floods, Dr Wee said this was not under their jurisdiction but welcomed parties who want to help the public with damaged vehicles but no relevant insurance coverage.
In conjunction with the KiLAT award ceremony, Dr Wee together with Ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak launched the new and improved Ministry directory as well as witnessed the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between YTL Construction, Universiti Malaya and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad.