The logistics infrastructure of South East Asia (S.E. Asia) continues to develop. The latest news from the region is an announcement of plans for a new port in Malaysia and an extension of the rail links with China.
The new port in Malaysia appears to be part of a national initiative to focus on the development of ports, with the country already having announced an extensive development of the container terminals at Port Klang. In March the government of the province of Negeri Sembilan signed an agreement with the property developer Tanco Holdings to build a new port at Port Dickson on the Straits of Malacca near Kuala Lumpur. As the facts around the development have emerged it remains unclear how large this facility will be in terms of the number of containers handled, however, Tanco Holdings have said that the new port will include an estate of “480 acres” and a further 33.66 hectares of the sea bed to be dredged. Bearing in mind the density of sea-borne traffic through the Straits it would seem reasonable to assume the port will be considerable.
Elsewhere in the region the extension of the China-Laos rail link has now reached Thailand. In a statement released last week, Thailand State Railways said that the link to Laos and China was now operational. Chinese railways had already constructed a high-speed rail link between Kunming and Vientiane which initially was an extension of the Chinese high-speed rail passenger network, however, rail freight capabilities have been established in parallel with this. The connection to Thailand will give Thai, Laos, and Chinese shippers an alternative to maritime container transport, in the S.E. Asia. It may also offer an alternative to the road freight networks that span the region from China to Singapore. These are increasingly capable but may be less competitive against the rail for the movement of high volumes of containers.
This is of strategic importance to all these economies as they seek to position themselves as locations for assembly activities at a global level.
Author: Thomas Cullen
Source: Ti Insight
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