PUTRAJAYA: Freight forwarders and hauliers will be allowed to move their cargoes from the major ports in the country under the third phase of the port clearing exercise between April 13 and 15, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said today.
The move aims to ensure that there would not be any congestion in ports nationwide in view of the latest extension of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to April 28, which was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today.
“This third exercise will be based on the current standard operating procedures (SOP) that had been communicated earlier to the relevant port operators and extended to ports at Port Klang, Johor, Penang, Kuantan, Melaka, Bintulu, and Padang Besar bordering Thailand.
“These SOPs have also been communicated to participating ports owned by the respective state governments,” he said in a statement.
The previous port clearing exercises in end-March and early April were proven to be effective in expediting the movement of cargo in congested ports.
“The movement of cargo to their final destinations is vital to ensure the uninterrupted supply of goods to satisfy consumers’ and households’ essential needs during the MCO,” he added.
Wee said the ports, particularly Port Klang and the ports in Penang and Johor have almost reached their respective maximum capacities, and any delay in clearing their congestion would have meant that essential goods could not reach markets nationwide.
He said the port clearing exercises are in line with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) (No.2) Regulations 2020, which is in effect since the second phase of the MCO.
“During the second exercise, congestion in the import-side container yards across most of these ports had been reduced to between 40% and 60% of their capacities.
“Only Johor Port in Pasir Gudang and Westport recorded a high container yard usage at nearly 70%,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said the export section of the container yards recorded a far lower congestion at 40% of their respective capacities.
Wee said the ministry will continue to monitor the congestion at the ports nationwide during the MCO and carry out additional port clearing exercises whenever necessary.
He added that the ministry is in constant contact with the industry players including port operators, freight forwarders, hauliers and other companies involved in logistics and transportation to ensure the smooth operations of the entire sector. – April 10, 2020, Bernama
