Johor Port, located on the eastern side of Johor, is a key gateway port for the south of Malaysia. Since inception in 1977, Johor Port has developed itself into one of the most successful multi-purpose port facilities in Malaysia.

The port has played a prominent role in catalyzing the development and success of the Pasir Gudang industrial estate and its surrounding areas. Today the Pasir Gudang industrial estate is amongst one of the most successful and vibrant industrial estates in Johor.

Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, Chairman of Johor Port said “Industries in Pasir Gudang are growing to the extent that it they have now expanded to the Tanjung Langsat industrial area. Therefore Johor Port needs to gear itself to cater for the growth and expansion of these industries so as to ensure that the port remains as a vibrant gateway for the southern region of Malaysia”.

Positioned under Flagship D of Iskandar Malaysia, the key economic activities in Pasir Gudang are currently focused on heavy industries, electrical and electronics, chemical, oleo-chemical, food and engineering-based industries.

“In order to cater to the needs of the surrounding industries, we have embarked on a 5 year business and port expansion plan which will see significant redevelopment and restructuring of the port infrastructure taking place; and major upgrades to the port’s equipment and facilities”.

“Our aim is to be able to serve our customers in a more efficient and cost effective manner so that we remain as a competitive port in the region” Sidik added.

“Under our 5 year expansion plan, the port will be modernized in phases”.

“Johor Port is one of only 35 ports in the world which handles LME’s non-ferrous metals. In order to continue being the preferred port for LME cargo in the region, we will undertake space optimization initiatives which will see us reconfiguring some parts of the port’s layout to create more space”.

“Given the physical space constrains that the port is facing, in order to increase capacity, we will have to build vertically. We will tear down some of the warehouses within the port vicinity and rebuild them into multi-storey facilities”.

“Under the 5 year expansion plan, we will also be replacing some of the old and aging cranes and port equipment, we will repair some of the wharfs structures, we will also build 4 new additional berths dedicated for the handling of liquid cargo, and we will dredge the port waterfront etc”.

“This year alone, we will be spending something to the tune of RM100 million”.

Sidik also said that the port would continue to leverage on Johor’s and Malaysia’s dominance in the growing palm oil industry.

“Due to the large concentration of palm oil refining facilities in the Pasir Gudang industrial area, Johor Port is today the largest palm oil terminal and storage facility in the world”.

“The palm oil industry is the fourth largest component of our national economy. Currently, it accounts for more than RM50 billion of Malaysia’s gross national income and this is projected to more than triple by 2020” said Sidik.

“Due to our vast experience in the handling of palm oil produce, we will strive to continuously enhance our services to meet the growing demands of this sector” he added.

On another note, Sidik noted that the coast line of Southern Johor had been identified by the government under the country’s Economic Transformation Program (ETP) to be developed into an Oil & Gas hub. In addition Sidik said, Iskandar Malaysia had also been designated as one of the three petrochemical zones in Malaysia, besides the ones in Terengganu and Pahang.

“In the south-west of the state, we have the Tanjung Bin Petrochemical and Maritime Centre and in the south-east of Johor, we have the upcoming Petronas RAPID project and the Vopak Dialog Independent Deep Water Terminal in Penggerang” Sidik said.

“As such, the port will continue to play a key role in facilitating the needs of the Oil and Gas sector. As it is today, we are already serving reputable off-shor