KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has boosted the funding allocation to expand the Sapangar Bay Container Port, Sabah’s main container port, by 42% to RM1.134bil. Suria Capital Holdings Bhd, which operates the port through unit Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd, told Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday that the Federal Government had approved an additional sum of RM333.505mil for the expansion programme following the recommendation of the Value Management Lab for Sabah Development Corridor project.
The additional funding is to cover the cost of the expansion, it said. Sabah Ports, it added, would be responsible for procuring the cargo handling equipment and the additional yard to achieve the 1.25 million TEU (20ft equivalent unit) capacity. Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, RM800mil had been originally allocated for the port expansion, whereby funding under the first rolling plan was to be staggered over two years (2016-2017). It was reported that construction work for the first stage of the development would begin early next year, with completion expected by 2019.
In its Bursa announcement on Feb 16, Suria Capital — which is 49% owned by the Sanah goverrnment (via Warisan Harta Sabah and Yayasan Sabah) — said the project’s initial phase would involve expanding the port’s berth length from the current 500 metres to 1.2km and stacking area from 15ha to 60ha. “With the additional operation area, the (annual) handling capacity is expected to increase to as much as 1.25 million TEUs from the current 500,000 TEUs,” it said.
The Sapangar Bay Container Port, completed in 2006 after the privatisation of Sabah Ports in 2003, is expected to become the premier transhipment hub for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015, port operations contributed RM41.98mil to Suria Capital’s group pre-tax profit. Property development, a business which it diversified to in 2013, contributed RM108.39mil. Suria Capital shares shed 2 sen to close at RM1.93 on Tuesday with 22,600 shares traded.
