Dr Jerip (front row, third left) being briefed by Raya Airways East Malaysia manager Koruthu Thomas (front row, fourth left) during his visit to its warehouse at the cargo terminal.
KUCHING: A new cargo complex will soon be established here to replace the present cargo terminal which is currently at overcapacity.
Assistant Minister of Transportation Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said a 43-acre land near Kuching International Airport (KIA) has been identified by Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) for the new complex which is expected to have better facilities.
“The facilities at the current 35-year-old cargo terminal is outdated and less than satisfactory. This hampers the growth of cargo movement in terms of import and export.
“Seeing that the volume of cargo has increased over the years, we need better facilities and MAB has confirmed that a new cargo complex is being planned to cater to the Customs Department, forwarding agents and various airlines dealing with cargo,” he told reporters after attending a dialogue session with cargo stakeholders at Kuching International Airport (KIA) today.
In the past three years, the volume of cargo at the terminal had increased by nine per cent each year from 22,500 metric tonnes in 2016 to 26,816 metric tonnes last year.
Dr Jerip said MAB is presently calling for tender to engage consultants for the project.
“We hope the consultants will be on board by July and once the preliminary studies are done, we will call all stakeholders for input again,” he remarked.
On funding for the cargo complex, he said the Sarawak government is ready to discuss with MAB which is the federal agency responsible for the project.
He stressed that the project is crucial, particularly in realising the state government’s effort to improve the export of Sarawak’s agriculture products.
“We need a cargo complex that will have facilities to store perishable goods, frozen items and more so as to allow agriculture products which are being exported to last longer,” he explained.
Also present were Malaysia Airports senior airport manager Jun Iskandar Murshidi, MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (Cargo Sales for Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei) Muhamad Khairul Mohd Noor, State Customs Department deputy director Herman Shah Abdullah and Sarawak Forwarding Agencies Association deputy chairman David Chieng.
[Source: “New cargo complex to be built soon” published by Borneo Post]Photo Credits: Borneo Post / Chimon Upon
