Efficient Seaports

International trade, especially seaborne trade, has traditionally been the lifeblood of Malaysia. Today, 95% of the country's trade is by sea via Malaysia's seven international ports - Penang Port, Port Klang, Johor Port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Kuantan Port and Kemaman Port in Peninsular Malaysia and Bintulu Port in Sarawak. Hong Kong-based Cargonews Asia placed Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas among Asia's top ten best seaports and top ten best container terminal operators.

Port Klang's central location and the government's emphasis on making the port a national and regional hub has resulted in an increasing volume of cargo.Port Klang recorded 4.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for 2002, which ranks it the top 11th in the world. Port Klang's Westport has excellent deep water facilities which allow the world's largest ships to dock without any difficulty.

Malaysia's newest port, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, commenced operations in late 1999. With the location of Maersk-Sealand's and Evergreen's transhipment facilities at PTP, the port is expected to achieve an annual cargo volume of 2.5 million TEUs in 2003. Another port, Kuantan Port on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is also undergoing a 30-year expansion to meet increasing throughput from the massive petrochemical complex along the Kertih-Gebeng corridor.

Besides the physical infrastructure being in place, the electronic data interchange (EDI) in Port Klang, Penang Port and Johor Port has allowed speedy clearance of cargo with the electronic transfer of documentation.